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The curtain has been raised on a TBM that will play a key role in New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project.
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Nicknamed the Dame Whinia Cooper, it is longer than a rugby field. Source: 1 NEWS
The machine, which is longer than a rugby pitch, will be used to drill 1.6-kilometer-long twin tunnels from central Auckland to Mt Eden Station, as part of the City Rail Link.
Tunnel boring machines are traditionally named after prominent women in honor of Santa Barbara, a patron saint of people who worked underground.
A national poll was decided by Dame Whina Cooper, the spearhead of Maori rights in the 20th century.
Her daughter, Hinerangi Puru Cooper, says her mother would have been honored by the title.
“My mom would be crying,” he said.
“Dame Whina was a woman who moved mountains.”
This machine will try to live up to its legacy: it will start operating underground from April next year.
Today only the front section of the machine, called the cutting head, was unveiled. The rest of the machine is still being assembled at the Mt Eden site.
The $ 4.4 billion project is expected to increase Auckland’s rail capacity, with 48 trains running per hour at peak times.
Cooper says she is very excited for the nation.
“We need something to alleviate that traffic,” he said.
The City Rail Link will be completed in 2024.
