By Lynda Myer
In order to advancing the first Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East main works contract, the Australian government has announced the preferred bidder.
The scheduled date for granting the contract by Suburban Connect, which is a consortium of CPB Contractors, Ghella and Acciona Construction, is the end of current year.
As Victoria’s longest tunnels, construction of 16km of twin rail tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, is the content of this work. Commissioning process of the TBMs are scheduled to be in 2026.
Additionally, second contract is due to be awarded next year for the tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill.
Excavation of the full 26km of twin tunnels for SRL East, will be done using up to 10 TBMs, while TBMs launching location is going to be Monash, Burwood and Heatherton.
While the early construction of SRL East is undergoing in Box Hill, Burwood and Heatherton, works are slated to commence soon in Monash and returning to Glen Waverley and Clayton later this year.
The determined date for inauguration of this new line is 2035.
According to Minister for Suburban Rail Loop, Jacinta Allan: “SLR would not only transform Melbourne’s public transport network, it would reshape how Melbourne grew in the decades ahead. It would take thousands of cars off roads, delivering 24,000 jobs across the life of the project and boosting hundreds of small local businesses.”
“We need to boost housing choice and affordability in established areas, which is why our SRL Precincts have been so carefully selected – they are places with easy connections to existing transport and have enormous potential for high quality jobs,” she added.
