A massive, state-of-the-art concrete facility helping to build the Metro Tunnel is creating employment in Melbourne’s western area.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan visited the $18 million purpose-built plant in Deer Park today. Around 70 workers are producing concrete segments that will line two nine-kilometre tunnels under Melbourne.
“This huge factory is building the future of our train network and creating Victorian jobs,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“I thank these workers for their hard work on this vital project, which will create space for more trains, more often, right across Melbourne.”
Each concrete segment weighs 4.5-tonnes and will be stored at the factory before being transported to the tunnelling sites at Arden and Domain. At peak production, the factory will churn out around 150 curved segments every day – one every seven minutes.
The plant has already produced 3,500 segments ahead of the start of tunnelling at the future North Melbourne Station site this week.
When the project is finished, the factory will have made more than 56,000 concrete segments, which will be arranged into around 9,300 rings forming the walls of the Metro Tunnel. This will be the biggest public transport project ever built in Victoria.
“We’re building the Metro Tunnel to run more trains in the suburbs and create thousands of jobs across Victoria,” Minister Jacinta Allan said.
“We’re ensuring our record pipeline of major transport projects delivers skills and opportunities to Victorians.”
Many of the workforce at the facility are auto workers. They are gaining new skills and experience in concrete manufacturing that will pave way for their long careers building the infrastructure Victoria needs as it grows.
The Metro Tunnel will create 7,000 jobs for Victorians, including work for almost 800 apprentices, trainees and engineering cadets.
“This state-of-the-art facility is a jobs-boon for our community – giving local workers a chance to gain invaluable skills and experience, and boosting local businesses in Deer Park and across Melbourne’s west,” Member for Kororoit Marlene Kairouz said.
The first tunnel boring machine Joan – named after Victoria’s first female Premier Joan Kirner – will be joined by three other TBMs to dig the Metro Tunnel, which will take two of Melbourne’s busiest train lines out of the city loop, creating room for more services and passengers right across the city.
The Metro Tunnel is expected to be completed in 2025.
