The Chatswood to Sydenham component of Sydney Metro City & Southwest involves the construction and operation of a new metro rail line from Chatswood under Sydney Harbour and through Sydney’s CBD out to Sydenham.
Tunnelling under Sydney Harbour
A specialised tunnel boring machine (TBM) designed for the geological conditions under Sydney Harbour excavated twin metro rail tunnels from Barangaroo to Blues Point.

City and Southwest project update May 2016


A specialised TBM was used to tunnel under Sydney Harbour


How we retrieved the TBMs at Blues Point
Building the tunnels
TBMs were used to excavate 15.5 kilometres of new twin rail tunnels between Chatswood and Sydenham.
Sydney Metro City & Southwest required five TBMs. Two were launched and removed from the Chatswood and Marrickville dives sites, with the fifth from Barangaroo.
Building the stations
The new underground stations on Stage 2 of Sydney Metro are designed to be as close to the surface as possible to allow customers to get in and out easily. At Crows Nest, Barangaroo, Central and Waterloo the stations will be excavated from the surface in a cut-and-cover construction method. At Victoria Cross, Martin Place and Pitt Street the station caverns will be mined out underground.