Inside a Sydney Metro Tunnel at Chatswood Dive Site

In early February 2023, Sydney Metro invited me to Chatswood Dive Site and this included a walk into the southbound tunnel!

I was accompanied by Hugh Lawson, the project director for Sydney Metro City & Southwest.

After putting on some PPE, we headed into the Northern Dive Building to take a look at the Tunnel Ventilation System.

It was then down lots of stairs to the tracks, and a chance to see the Chatswood Dive Site Structure from the inside! And this led us into the Southbound tunnel.

In this video, you'll learn the difference between a Tunnel, a Tunnel Portal and a Dive Site. You'll also learn what a Balise is, and why a rigid conductor rail is used in the Sydney Metro tunnels instead of conventional overhead wires.

Hugh also explains the benefits of track slabs over traditional ballast and sleepers, and reveals the true purpose of the walkway that runs inside the tunnels. It's not what you think!

I finish off with a history of the Sydney Trains North Shore Line (T1) alignment around the Chatswood Dive Site Northern Connection. This has changed several times over the last 5 years to allow the dive site to be built.

This video was approved by Sydney Metro.

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:30 Tunnel Ventilation Fans
1:07 Inside Chatswood Dive Site
2:48 Inside the Southbound Tunnel
4:30 What is a Balise?
4:53 Benefits of Concrete Track Slabs
6:11 Tunnel Layout and Walkways
6:41 Benefits of Rigid Conductor System
7:36 Views from Northern Dive Building
7:54 Sydney Trains Track Realignment
9:03 Site Area Development

Related Videos
Chatswood Dive Site Playlist -    • Chatswood Dive Site  

Article on Kinematic Envelope - https://railsystem.net/structure-gaug...

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