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 and middle shields arrived at Clarinda in early August under superload permits. With the front shield weighing around 230 tonnes, the delivery required careful planning along the transport route. The transport vehicle measured about 55 metres long, 7.5 metres wide and 5.4 metres high. To put that width in perspective, a standard Melbourne traffic lane is typically 3.3 to 3.5 metres wide. The convoy departed at 10 pm and travelled at speeds of up to 60 km/h. It reached the Clarinda launch site in the early hours of the following morning. By moving the load overnight, the team could reduce traffic impacts and manage the delivery with fewer vehicles on the road.

 

 

TBM Aayushi takes shape

 

With the front, middle and tail shields now on site, crews have started assembling the machine’s main sections. The Suburban Rail Loop Authority confirmed that crews would lower each section into the launch site over the coming weeks.

Further components will arrive as work continues, including the back-up gantry structure. Once assembly is complete, Aayushi will launch from Clarinda and begin excavating towards Glen Waverley.

Meanwhile, Ghella has reported that tunnelling has started between Burwood and Glen Waverley on another section of Suburban Rail Loop East. The Clarinda assembly work is another step forward as tunnelling progresses across the 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.