Melbourne's Parkville Station Construction Explained

A NEW metro tunnel is under construction in Melbourne.

The 9 kilometre, USD $7.9 billion project aims to increase the capacity of the city's metro network while bypassing the existing city loop.

The project broke ground in 2018 and is expected to complete by 2025. It will include five new underground stations and help increase the capacity of the network by allowing an additional 40 trains per hour to pass through the city centre.

Above: A diagram showing the location of the new Parkville Station (image courtesy of Rail Projects Victoria).

Located next to the University of Melbourne, as well as a large number of medical and research centres, Parkville Station is to be the line's busiest and is expected to serve 60,000 passengers every day.

Above: More than 500 piles were excavated and poured in-situ (image courtesy of Rail Projects Victoria).

The station, which is currently being excavated, will measure 270 metres in length and extend down 30 metres.

Construction crews have already constructed a perimeter wall comprising 500 piles that were poured in-situ and connected by a capping beam.

Above: The installation of gantry cranes on top of the capping beam (image courtesy of Rail Projects Victoria).

A gantry crane will be installed on the capping beam, and the site will be excavated to a depth of 3 metres.

The station will then be covered with a deck allowing construction vehicles to pass above while excavation continues underground.

Two additional gantry cranes will be installed in February 2019 and will eventually be used to lift excavated material from below ground.

Above: 200,000 cubic metres of soil are to be excavated during the works (image courtesy of Rail Projects Victoria).

Excavation works are expected to continue until the end of this year with around 200,000 cubic metres of rock and soil - the equivalent of 80 Olympic swimming pools - set to be removed from the site of the station.