Work begins on much-anticipated rail link north-west of Sydney

Work has begun on the North West Rail Link in Sydney, set to become the longest railway tunnel in Australia.

NSW Premier Mike Baird was in high-vis today with the words residents in the north-west have waited decades to hear.

“It’s time to start tunnelling. Get underway,” Mr Baird said.

The 105-tonne boring machine ‘Elizabeth’ is doing all of the hard work, boring her way through nine kilometres of Sydney sandstone and shale.

It will take a week to move just 120 metres, which means four of these machines will be digging until 2017.

They will work around the clock but because all the action happens underground, noise will be minimal.

“It is true with such a large scale project that there will be an increased number of trucks on the road,” project manager Rodd Staples said.

The government says safety is a top priority.

Those who remember the partial collapse of the Lane Cove tunnel during its construction were offered this assurance by Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklan.

“This is a completely different project, completely different team and we know that we’ve done our homework,” she said.

The rail link is scheduled to open in 2019.