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Under wraps: Sydney’s first rail tunnel dug beneath harbour

It was a historic moment that passed Sydney by.

Without any public fanfare, a giant tunnel boring machine named Kathleen has completed digging the first rail tunnel under Sydney Harbour for a new metro train line.

O’Sullivan (2019-11-21)

My Quotes

Sydney transport planner Mathew Hounsell said the use of a specialised tunnel boring machine to bore under the harbour was a “very significant” engineering achievement.

“It is a significant milestone in Australian history. It demonstrates that we are capable of delivering major infrastructure projects like other countries – but it is not a world beater,” he said.

He cited the 57-kilometre Gotthard tunnel under the Swiss Alps – the world’s longest and deepest rail tunnel, which opened in 2016 – as an example of an extraordinary engineering feat.

O’Sullivan (2019-11-21)

To be clear, I was not diminishing the achievement of building the Sydney metro; merely putting it into a global context of mega-projects.

Citation: O’Sullivan (2019-11-21)

Matt O’Sullivan (2019-11-21). “Under wraps: Sydney’s first rail tunnel dug beneath harbour” Sydney Morning Herald, Fairfax Media LtdNine Entertainment Co. Sydney, NSW, Australia. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/under-wraps-sydney-s-first-rail-tunnel-dug-beneath-harbour-20191121-p53cs3.html Accessed 2020-02-22