Ghella shortlisted to build the Suburban Rail Loop East Tunnels in Melbourne

Ghella, in joint venture with our partners, CPB Contractors and Acciona, have been shortlisted to build the Suburban Rail Loop East Tunnels in Melbourne, Australia. This city-shaping project will transform the public transport network, connect suburbs and create thousands of jobs.

SRL East will deliver 26 kilometres of twin tunnels and six brand new underground stations between Cheltenham and Box Hill. Trains will be running by 2035, with an end-to-end trip of just 22 minutes.

Initial works on SRL East are already underway in Clayton and major works have been given the green light following a rigorous Environment Effects Statement (EES) planning process.

Tunnelling begins in 2026, with up to ten tunnel boring machines (TBMs) to be used to carve out the twin tunnels. The tunnelling task will be split into two separate contracts to ensure the work is done as efficiently as possible, minimising disruption to the community.

The first contract will be awarded next year for twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley. The second is to construct tunnels between Glen Waverley and Box Hill.

Construction of SRL East will create up to 8,000 local jobs, creating a pipeline of employment and training opportunities – with at least 10 per cent of all hours to be worked by apprentices, trainees and cadets.

As stated by Minister for Suburban Rail Loop, Jacinta Allan “SRL East is a project Victoria needs, and we’re getting on with delivering this city-shaping network and the many thousands of jobs during construction – this is an exciting day as we move closer to the start of tunnelling.”

As stated by Suburban Rail Loop CEO, Frankie Carroll “This competitive process has been a massive vote of confidence in Suburban Rail Loop – with construction giants from around the world vying to partner with us to deliver this city-shaping project.”