Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport marks new major milestone

A new major milestone has been reached on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project with tunnel boring machine (TBM) Peggy emerging from the future Airport Terminal station. 

The massive 1,066-tonne TBM completed the first leg of its 5.5-kilometre journey to the Aerotropolis. This follows the recent historic breakthrough of TBM Eileen. 

TBM Peggy – named after Peggy Kelman OAM, an Australian aviation pioneer and adventurer – worked around the clock at an average speed of 120 metres per week, digging and building the fully lined 1.26-kilometre tunnel from the Airport Business Park. It has excavated around 112,000 tonnes of rock, which is enough to fill up to 18 Olympic swimming pools. 

The TBM will now travel across the station box before it is relaunched to dig under the future Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. TBM Peggy is expected to arrive at the Aerotropolis metro station site in 2024. 

“The spectacular arrival of TBM Peggy marks the fantastic progress underway on this vital 23-kilometre transport link, which will not only benefit Greater Western Sydney residents, but for those visiting from around the globe. 

“We are thrilled to be shaping the future of this vibrant and growing region with reliable and fully accessible metro services, ready for when planes start taking off at the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport,” Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said. 

TBM Peggy emerges at Airport Terminal Station site (source: Sydney Metro)

Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport will see a total of four TBMs building the 9.8-kilometre-long twin tunnels between St Marys and the Aerotropolis. 

TBM Eileen is working on the metro tunnels alongside TBM Peggy from Airport Business Park to the Aerotropolis while TBMs Catherine and Marlene have commenced their 4.3-kilometre journey from Orchard Hills to St Marys. 

In 2021, the CPB Contractors and Ghella joint venture was awarded the $1.8 billion Station Boxes and Tunnelling contract, which will deliver the 9.8-kilometre twin tunnels as well as five station boxes and two services facilities shafts for the project. 

The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Line is due to be operational in time for the opening of the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport in 2026. Once up and running, the Western Sydney Airport Line will have an expected travel time of 15 minutes from St Marys metro station to the Airport Terminal Station and about five minutes to the Aerotropolis Station. 

“The community benefit, as the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport continues toward completion, are immense. 

“Our residents are looking forward to the opportunities, jobs for the future, as well as the construction jobs which support families and the economy in Western Sydney,” Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley said. 

Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport alignment (source: Sydney Metro)

This Sydney Metro development is set to become the transport spine for Greater Western Sydney that connects residential areas to job hubs such as the new Aerotropolis as well as connect travellers from the new airport to the rest of Sydney’s public transport network. 

In addition, this project is anticipated to provide a major economic stimulus for the region by supporting over 14,000 jobs across the supply chain during its construction. 

“This city-shaping project is supporting the local economy with more than 14,000 jobs generated during construction, including 250 new apprentices and at least 20 per cent of the contract workforce coming from Greater Western Sydney. 

“This project is making Western Sydney the doorway to the rest of the world, and we can’t wait to see it continue to take shape,” Transport Minister Jo Haylen said. 

Source: NSW Government – Media Releases; Sydney Metro (1, 2); Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government