Still obsessed with the Metro? Us too! And fellow transport tragics, we have good news: the multibillion-dollar line linking Westmead and the CBD just hit a major milestone. This week, the NSW Government confirmed the tunnel is officially complete, meaning it’s one step closer to transporting millions of Western Sydney commuters to the city daily in record time.
When finished, the game-changing Metro West will feature shiny new stations at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock, The Bays, Pyrmont and Hunter Street in the city. On track to open in 2032, the end-to-end trip will take just 22 minutes and double the rail capacity between Western Sydney and the city.
For the past two years, the tunnel boring machine “Betty” – named after Olympic sprint champion Betty Cuthbert – has been on the grind, chewing through around 200 metres of earth to build the nine-kilometre tunnel. During that time, she’s dug through 790,000 tonnes of Earth – enough to fill a whopping 130 Olympic swimming pools – and lined the tunnel walls with 30,000 concrete segments.
In a major milestone, Betty has finally broken through into the future Westmead station cavern – the Metro West line’s deepest station, stretching 500 metres and reaching up to 39 metres below ground.
The Westmead metro station will be within walking distance of the suburb's four major hospitals, five world-leading medical research institutes and two university campuses, plus offer seamless connections to Westmead Train Station, Parramatta Light Rail, the T-way and local buses.
“Westmead Station is going to be so important in plugging the health district into the rest of Sydney, with a two-minute journey to Parramatta and then just 20 minutes to the Sydney CBD,” said Minister for Transport John Graham. “This line will deliver more than just passengers; it will bring jobs and economic activity.”
So, while we have a few more years until it's finally ready – at least everything's still on track!