By lyndamyer
As a step towards Metro Tunnel’s inauguration to passengers next year, the Arden Station has been completed for Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel after six years of construction on the project.
Following that in 2018, the digging process was commenced on Arden Station, teams have removed 330,000 tonnes of rock and soil; built a massive brick archway and facade; poured the concrete for the station platforms; laid lengths of steel rail through the tunnels; and installed escalators, lifts and platform screen doors.
In order to finishing touches at Arden Station, installing paving below ground, as well as seating and passenger information displays were the works that crews inplemented Iin recent weeks, while above ground, work took place on landscaping, paving, and installing signs, seating and bicycle hoops.
Considering that work is undergoing on the other four underground stations(Parkville, State Library, Town Hall and Anzac), Parkville is sceduled to be the next station to be finished.
As a test case for the remaining stations, completion of Arden Station was brought forward and during the coming months, project team is going to test station systems, including passenger information displays, platform screen doors and ventilation.
Completing the tunnels and stations contract is up to Cross Yarra Partnership, a consortium of Lendlease Engineering, John Holland Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital.
As a metro-style rail network for Melbourne, the Metro Tunnel is the first step and it includes twin 9km tunnels from the west of the city to the south-east and five underground stations. The four TBMs completed tunneling in May 2021.
