{"id":20771,"date":"2026-10-20T07:32:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771"},"modified":"2026-10-20T07:32:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:32:38","slug":"second-tbm-begins-arrival-for-melbournes-suburban-rail-loop-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771","title":{"rendered":"Second TBM Begins Arrival for Melbourne\u2019s Suburban Rail Loop East"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The arrival follows that of TBM Aayushi in August. The Suburban Connect consortium, comprising CPB Contractors, Ghella and ACCIONA, will deploy the two machines to excavate approximately 10km of twin tunnels on the southern section of the project.<\/p>\n<p>TBM Aayushi is scheduled to begin tunnelling from the eastern launch shaft later this year, with TBM Belinda expected to follow.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Four Herrenknecht TBMs for the Southern Section<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Suburban Connect will use four 7.24m-diameter tunnel boring machines manufactured by Herrenknecht to construct the southern section of SRL East. The programme includes a TBM operated by what the project describes as the world\u2019s first all-female tunnelling crew.<\/p>\n<p>The machines will excavate the twin tunnels forming part of the new orbital rail line, which is designed to improve connections between Melbourne\u2019s eastern and southeastern suburbs.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Tunnelling Underway on the Northern Section<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Tunnelling on SRL East began in September, when TBM Alice, operated by the Terra Verde consortium, started excavation on the northern section. A second machine, TBM Hacia, is underground and being prepared to begin tunnelling.<\/p>\n<p>Terra Verde comprises Webuild, GS Engineering and Construction, and Bouygues Construction Australia. The consortium will deploy four CREG-manufactured earth pressure balance tunnel boring machines (EPBMs) for the northern section.<\/p>\n<p>With TBM components now arriving for the southern section and tunnelling underway in the north, work is progressing towards delivering the twin tunnels that will form a key part of SRL East.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The arrival follows that of TBM Aayushi in August. The Suburban Connect consortium, comprising CPB Contractors, Ghella and ACCIONA, will deploy the two machines to excavate approximately 10km of twin tunnels on the southern section of the project. TBM Aayushi is scheduled to begin tunnelling from the eastern launch shaft later this year, with TBM Belinda expected to follow. Four Herrenknecht TBMs for the Southern Section Suburban Connect will use four 7.24m-diameter tunnel boring machines manufactured by Herrenknecht to construct the southern section of SRL East. The programme includes a TBM operated by what the project describes as the world\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":20772,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4001],"tags":[2495,3422,1741,90,1645,86,5756,5752,5757,5751,5754,5508,5753,5755,5758,1699,783],"class_list":["post-20771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contract-projects","tag-acciona","tag-cpb-contractors","tag-creg","tag-epbm","tag-ghella","tag-herrenknecht","tag-melbourne-metro","tag-srl-east","tag-suburban-connect","tag-suburban-rail-loop-east","tag-tbm-aayushi","tag-tbm-alice","tag-tbm-belinda","tag-tbm-hacia","tag-terra-verde","tag-tunnel-boring-machine","tag-webuild","post--single"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tunnelingworld\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rosebell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rosebell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"rosebell\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\"},\"headline\":\"Second TBM Begins Arrival for Melbourne\u2019s Suburban Rail Loop East\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771\"},\"wordCount\":246,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Image-1-13.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Acciona\",\"CPB Contractors\",\"CREG\",\"EPBM\",\"Ghella\",\"Herrenknecht\",\"Melbourne Metro\",\"SRL East\",\"Suburban Connect\",\"Suburban Rail Loop East\",\"TBM Aayushi\",\"TBM Alice\",\"TBM Belinda\",\"TBM Hacia\",\"Terra Verde\",\"Tunnel Boring Machine\",\"Webuild\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Contract\\\/projects\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771\",\"name\":\"TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Image-1-13.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\"},\"description\":\"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Image-1-13.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/Image-1-13.avif\",\"width\":650,\"height\":433,\"caption\":\"Suburban Rail Loop East TBM\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?p=20771#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Second TBM Begins Arrival for Melbourne\u2019s Suburban Rail Loop East\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tunnelingworld\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba\",\"name\":\"rosebell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"rosebell\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tunnelingworld.com\\\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East","description":"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East","og_description":"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.","og_url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771","og_site_name":"Tunnelingworld","article_published_time":"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00","author":"rosebell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"rosebell","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771"},"author":{"name":"rosebell","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba"},"headline":"Second TBM Begins Arrival for Melbourne\u2019s Suburban Rail Loop East","datePublished":"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771"},"wordCount":246,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Image-1-13.avif","keywords":["Acciona","CPB Contractors","CREG","EPBM","Ghella","Herrenknecht","Melbourne Metro","SRL East","Suburban Connect","Suburban Rail Loop East","TBM Aayushi","TBM Alice","TBM Belinda","TBM Hacia","Terra Verde","Tunnel Boring Machine","Webuild"],"articleSection":["Contract\/projects"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771","name":"TBM Belinda Arrives for Melbourne\u2019s SRL East","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Image-1-13.avif","datePublished":"2026-10-20T07:32:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba"},"description":"TBM Belinda\u2019s first component has arrived in Melbourne for SRL East, where Suburban Connect will use HK machines to excavate twin tunnels.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Image-1-13.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Image-1-13.avif","width":650,"height":433,"caption":"Suburban Rail Loop East TBM"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?p=20771#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Second TBM Begins Arrival for Melbourne\u2019s Suburban Rail Loop East"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/","name":"Tunnelingworld","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4d2f4182b445645aa0b79f3f43560eba","name":"rosebell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b92c3f35ab56dec639479a669ce3f5158c2ac3b5cf54852fc3df01779a0812?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"rosebell"},"url":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20771"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20773,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20771\/revisions\/20773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tunnelingworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}