City Rail Link’s giant boring machine named Dame Whina Cooper introduced

The giant drilling machine that will build twin tunnels for the $ 4.4 billion City Rail Link was unveiled this morning before preparing to roar underground in April.

The Boring Machine is named after the late Dame Whina Cooper, the respected Kuia and Maori rights advocate who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of her people.

It is a tradition that a TBM cannot start working until it has the name of a woman in honor of Santa Barbara, the patron saint of underground workers, as a sign of good luck. The Auckland Waterview tunnel boring machine was called Alice.

The machine is a giant underground powerhouse. Built in China and assembled in Auckland, it is 130m long and will travel 32m a day to build two parallel tunnels, each 1.6km long, under the city.

The machine is made up of two main components: a front rotating cutting head that pierces the ground, traps debris and places it on a conveyor built for removal; and a portal track behind that includes a concrete panel fixing mechanism.

It’s scheduled to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and includes a break room and restrooms for a 12-person team.

Opening the state-of-the-art machine behind a burgundy curtain will give Aucklandites their first view of the big machine before a boring public day on Sunday.

“Dame Whina Cooper’s public debut is a tremendous moment for the project and for Auckland,” said City Rail Link Ltd Chief Executive Officer Dr. Sean Sweeney.

“It is a symbolic sign for the beginning of the hard work underground to build the CRL tunnels and stations that will transform the way Auckland residents can travel around their city.”

Cooper’s daughter, Hinerangi Puru Cooper, and his son, Joe Cooper, along with their wider family, were in attendance at the opening. They were joined by Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson, Transport Minister Michael Wood, Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick, City Mayor Phil Goff, Auckland iwi, who participated in CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum, and representatives of the community, transportation and the CRL.

Only the front section of the TBM, called the cutting head, was released. The rest of the machine is still being assembled by Link Alliance, which has CRL’s core package of tunnels, stations and rail systems, at the Mt Eden site after arriving in sections from China.

The City Rail Link, jointly funded by the Auckland Government and Council, will double the capacity of Auckland’s commuter rail network once it is completed in 2024.

Tunnel drilling machine

Call Dame Whina Cooper

130 m long – 10 m longer than a rugby pitch

It weighs 910 tons, the same as nine blue whales

7.15m height – taller than a giraffe

Up to 1500 tons of rubble excavated daily

Travel 32 m a day working 24/7

It will drill two parallel tunnels each 1.6 km long from Mt Eden to CBD