TBM Aayushi Assembly Begins at Clarinda

Assembly is underway for tunnel boring machine Aayushi at Clarinda, marking a major construction milestone for the Suburban Rail Loop East Tunnels South project. The machine will later excavate one of the twin tunnels from Clarinda towards Glen Waverley.

 

The first major TBM components arrived following a carefully planned superload transport operation from the Port of Hastings. CPB Contractors and ACCIONA, working through the Suburban Connect consortium, shared details of the delivery, including the scale of the specialised transport required to move the machine’s shields through Melbourne. CPB Contractors and ACCIONA published the updates, alongside recent progress posts from Ghella and the Suburban Rail Loop Authority.

 

A major overnight delivery

 

The front shield and middle shield were transported to Clarinda in early August under superload permits. Each major component weighed around 230 tonnes, requiring specialist heavy-haulage planning and an overnight delivery window. The transport vehicle measured approximately 55 metres long, 7.5 metres wide and 5.4 metres high. For comparison, a standard Melbourne traffic lane is typically 3.3 to 3.5 metres wide.

 

The convoy departed at 10pm and travelled at a maximum speed of 60 km/h, arriving at the Clarinda launch site in the early hours of the morning. Moving the load overnight helped manage traffic impacts while allowing the project team to complete the delivery safely.

 

 

TBM Aayushi takes shape

 

With the front, middle and tail shields now on site, the project team has commenced assembling the main sections of TBM Aayushi. The Suburban Rail Loop Authority confirmed that each section will be lowered into the launch site over the coming weeks. Additional components, including the back-up gantry structure, are expected to arrive as assembly continues.

 

Once ready, the tunnel boring machine will launch from Clarinda and begin excavation towards Glen Waverley as part of the project’s southern tunnels. Ghella, a Suburban Connect consortium partner, also noted that tunnelling has now commenced between Burwood and Glen Waverley on another section of Suburban Rail Loop East. The update places the Clarinda TBM assembly within the wider progress of the rail project.

A community connection

 

The tunnel boring machine is named after Aayushi Khillan, a medical student, researcher and founder of Body Buddies.

 

The social enterprise uses soft toys to help children learn about health and the human body. Students from Le Page Primary School in Cheltenham selected the name, giving the machine a local connection as it prepares for its role on one of Melbourne’s largest transport infrastructure projects.

 

 

Documenting complex construction activity

 

Projects of this scale involve major deliveries, specialist lifting operations, site assembly and changing construction stages that are valuable to record clearly.

 

Progress photography, aerial imagery and construction time-lapse can give project teams a practical record of work as it happens. The content can support stakeholder reporting, project updates, future tenders and completed-project marketing, while showing the scale of work that is often difficult to communicate through words alone.

 

For major infrastructure works, documenting key milestones such as TBM component delivery and assembly provides a useful visual record for the project team and the wider community.