Suburban Rail Loop – Ground Conditions and Tunnelling Challenges

Stefan Hanke and Chris Lyons

Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future liveability, productivity and connectivity of Melbourne. The 90km rail line will link every major rail line from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line via Melbourne Airport, better connecting Victorians to jobs, retail, education, health services and each other.   SRL will be delivered in three stages, the first of which (SRL East) runs from Cheltenham to Box Hill, consisting of 26km of twin tunnels and six underground stations. A range of geological and hydrogeological conditions are encountered along SRL East. This results in a range of geotechnical challenges for cut and cover excavations, tunnelling and managing of nvironmental impacts. To manage these risks, Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) has undertaken an extensive program of geotechnical investigations, stakeholder engagement and design development. This presentation provides:

• An update on the project
• An overview of anticipated geological conditions
• A summary of the ongoing geotechnical investigation program
• Outlines some of the tunnelling and cut and cover challenges identified
• Presents some of the geotechnical monitoring approaches adopted

About the speakers

Stefan Hanke BSc, MSc, Package Director – Tunnels & Civils, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Melbourne

Stefan Hanke, BSc, MSc, Package Director – Tunnels & Civils, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Melbourne Stefan has over 30 years of global experience on large-scale road, rail and water projects across Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and Europe. With extensive procurement and delivery experience in a range of contract types, he has played key roles in successful project acquisition, civil/tunnel works delivery, M&E works coordination, and project completion. Stefan has worked on notable infrastructure projects from across the world, including London’s Crossrail, Metro Tunnel, North East Link, and the Waterview Connection project in Auckland. Now Package Director of Tunnels and Civils at Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Stefan is responsible for the procurement and delivery of the SRL East tunnelling packages.

Chris Lyons BEng, MEng, CPEng, Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Tunnels & Civils, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Melbourne

Chris Lyons, BEng, MEng, CPEng, Principal Geotechnical Engineer, Tunnels & Civils, Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Melbourne Chris has 25 years of experience as a geotechnical designer working on the successful delivery of a range of infrastructure and commercial projects from concept through to delivery. Chris has gained global experience working in New Zealand, the UK, UAE and Australia, on major metro tunnel projects, including Crossrail, Metro Tunnel and Suburban Rail Loop. Chris leads the technical inputs to manage ground condition risks for Suburban Rail Loop, including geotechnical investigations, hydrogeological conditions, tunnelling, geotechnical retention design, ground movement impacts, instrumentation and monitoring, spoil disposal and ground improvements.

This event is co-hosted by Australian Tunnelling Society.

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