New Project to Strengthen Melbourne's Sustainable Mobility System

Webuild, leader of the Terra Verde joint-venture, has signed a contract to design and build the Tunnels North contract of Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East, a project that will transform public transport in Melbourne amid strong population growth in the coming years. SRL, of which the East section is a part, will improve travel efficiency for more than 80% of Melburnians and take more than 600,000 cars off the roads every day.

Webuild is leading the joint-venture. Its partners include GS E&C of South Korea and Bouygues Construction Australia of France’s Bouygues. The signing of the contract comes after the joint-venture was named preferred bidder in July.

Commissioned by Suburban Rail Loop Authority, the contract entails the excavation of two parallel tunnels for nearly 10 kilometres between the future stations of Box Hill and Glen Waverley; the creation of 39 cross passages between them; two station boxes; two tunnel access shafts; and one intervention and ventilation shaft. The tunnels will be excavated using tunnel-boring machines (TBMs).

Suburban Rail Loop is a 90-kilometre orbital rail line that will help transform the way Melbourne grows, delivering more public transport and more homes. The first stage, SRL East, is now under construction, with tunnelling to start in 2026 and trains taking passengers in 2035.

The contract builds on the legacy established in the city by Webuild, whose predecessor was responsible for a major part of the tunnels and stations built for the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop (MURL), a major infrastructure project opened in 1985. In Melbourne, the Group is also excavating tunnels for the North East Link, a major section of a freeway network. With the SRL East contract, it will once again be bringing its tunnelling leadership to the project. Globally, it has 63 TBMs, including those being assembled, having been ordered or set to be ordered for upcoming projects. Of the total, 16 are working on sites from Australia to the United States along with hundreds of specialists from dozens of nationalities.