Her tungsten carbide teeth each weigh 250 kilograms, and her head is constantly turning – but she only moves a few metres each day.

She’s not a monster, although at more than 1,200 tonnes she’s as scary as one: this is Betty, the tunnel boring machine on the Sydney Metro West line, and she’s just arrived at Westmead.

The first of two machines cutting out kilometres of rock and sediment for tunnels for the new metro system that will eventually connect Sydney’s CBD to Westmead was celebrated by the state Labor government on Monday, even as Premier Chris Minns doused hopes of constructing any new metro or heavy rail lines in the city despite transport officials making the case for them in the long term.

Westmead’s metro station will be directly next to the suburb’s train station, which i

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