Tunnel Boring Machines for Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop East have been named!

Our four Suburban Connect TBMs in Melbourne Australia, will excavate 16 kilometres of tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley. 

The TBM names were selected by primary school students along the SRL East alignment from Clayton North, Clayton South, Essex Heights, Huntingdale, Kerrimuir, Le Page, and Roberts McCubbin schools. The initiative celebrates Victorian women who have made a remarkable impact across a range of fields.
The announcement marks another major milestone for the project, with a third Suburban Connect TBM passing factory acceptance testing, bringing tunnelling one step closer.
 

The Suburban Connect TBMs are:
TBM Aayushi – named after health advocate and Body Buddies founder Aayushi Khillan, who uses soft toys to teach children about health.
TBM Belinda – named after steam train driver and medical student Belinda McKenzie, the first woman to drive Melbourne’s historic Puffing Billy.
TBM Muriel – named after Aunty Muriel Bamblett, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, and Bunurong Elder, and CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency.
TBM Issy – named after Suburban Connect Tunnels Construction Manager Isolde Piet, the world’s first female TBM pilot.
 

Isolde ‘Issy’ Piet will lead the southern tunnelling crews, including the world’s first all-women TBM team. “It’s a huge honour to have one of the tunnel boring machines on the project named after me, especially when I look at the other remarkable women recognised by this initiative,” says Issy.

When complete, the Suburban Rail Loop will slash travel times and connect communities to jobs, education, and healthcare. A university student from Bayswater will reach Monash University in just 37 minutes, saving 15 minutes on public transport, while a TAFE student from Carrum studying at Box Hill Institute will save 17 minutes.