A mini tunnel boring machine (TBM) has arrived onsite as major works continue to remove the two dangerous and congested level crossings at Union Road and Mont Albert Road.
As part of a naming competition, we sought help from students from local primary schools and asked them to submit their best name suggestions for the mini TBM.
Dora the Bora was selected as the winning name after much consideration and dozens of great suggestions.
Congratulations and thank you to our winner Grace from grade 2 at Surrey Hills Primary School for nominating the winning name. Grace got to take home a local trader voucher, her own set of PPE and a copy of the TBM sticker.
Traditionally, a TBM is given a female name before it can start tunnelling, as it is said to grant good luck for the project ahead. This tradition dates back to the 1500s when miners and military engineers would pray to Saint Barbara – the patron saint of tunnellers and miners.
Dora the Bora is onsite to help with works by tunnelling a new route for a large watermain under Lorne Parade Reserve, which needs to be lowered to run beneath the rail trench.
We’re removing the level crossings at Union Road and Mont Albert Road by lowering the rail line into a 1.3-kilometre-long trench beneath Union Road and Mont Albert Road and building a new, premium station. The boom gates will be gone for good, and the new Union Station open in 2023.
