The lightest viaduct configuration in the MMC family. One leg, one deck — variable height from 6m on flat terrain through 20–60m on ridge sections to 100m+ at valley crossings, all from the same tapered segment family. The Phase 0-2 Newcastle–Sydney maglev (133.2km, ridge route through the Watagan ranges) runs on MMC-VC.
Specification
MMC-VC at a glance.
Configuration
Single-leg, single-deck viaduct
Legs per pylon
1 — single central leg
Deck height
Variable — 6m on flat terrain, 20–70m on ridge country, up to 150m+ at valley crossings
Span
25m — same as Pylon B
Foundation
1 × 4m OD ATS caisson, 10m planning depth, ~215t per pylon (10 ring segments + 1 caisson head)
Cutter heads
1 per pylon — Hub-only manufacture
Tubular
1 × 13.375" × 72ppf L80 13Cr API 5CT (reduced from MMC-VB's 20" — handling advantage on narrow single-leg platform)
Column
P1 segments only, single leg, same tapered family — 2 segments for 6m, ~33 segments for 100m
3 HB2 maglev girders per span (Super-T, ~24t each)
Services
Maglev passenger only — 600 km/h. No HVDC, no freight, no pipelines (Phase 0-2 specific)
Modules per pylon (standard 6m)
~20 — approximately 2% of Phase 0 MMC-VB's 54
Concrete per span (standard 6m)
~347 tonnes — 40% of MMC-VB's 865t
Total span weight (operating)
~600 tonnes (standard height); up to ~815t for deep valley crossings
MMC-VC — single-leg single-deck passenger-only viaduct configuration. Pre-feasibility illustration. SketchUp engineering renders are in production.
Configuration
How MMC-VC is built on the platform.
MMC-VC is the lightest expression of the MMC platform. A single central pylon carries a single deck — typically maglev passenger guideway, but could equally be HVDC, freight, or a single utility line. The variable height is the defining feature: the same 3m tapered segment from the same Megafactory production line stacks to whatever height the terrain requires.
MMC-VC's economic argument rests on the marginal-cost relationship to MMC-VB. The Megafactory is dimensioned for Phase 0 MMC-VB; the establishment cost is paid by Phase 0. MMC-VC modules are a strict subset of MMC-VB modules — same caisson rings, same column segments, same cap beam family, same girder profile. MMC-VC production is incremental on a factory already running. Phase 0-2 (133.2km of MMC-VC) requires only ~106,560 modules — about 73 production days at Phase 0's 1,473 modules/day rate, or simply absorbed by the Line 3 girder line which runs at 55% utilisation in Phase 0.
Deployment
Where MMC-VC is deployed.
MMC-VC is deployed where single-service single-deck makes sense — passenger maglev without freight requirement. The SBC MMC-VC deployment is the Newcastle to Sydney Central urban passenger corridor (Phase 0-2), running 133.2km from Newcastle CBD via WSA into Sydney Central. The WSA-to-Central segment of that corridor is broken out as Phase 0-3, allowing the urban metro link to be built and commissioned independently of the full Newcastle line. Same alignment, same infrastructure, same Megafactory output. All other Phase 0 spurs are MMC-VB freight + passenger.
Phase 0-2Newcastle to Sydney Central. 133.2km MMC-VC ridge route — ~13-minute Newcastle–Sydney maglev journey at 600 km/h.
Phase 0-3WSA to Sydney Central. The Sydney Central to WSA segment of the Phase 0-2 corridor. Same MMC-VC infrastructure, broken out as a standalone phase so the metro link can be built and commissioned independently.
MMC-VC is covered by the Architectural Framework (Patent 4) and the Single-Leg topside configurations referenced in Patent 6. The single-leg viaduct architecture leverages the same renewable tubular tension element as the dual-leg MMC-VB and MMC-VA — only one tubular per pylon (13.375" rather than 20"), one anchor receptacle in the cutter head, one tensioning operation at the pylon cap. The variable-height capability emerges directly from Patent 4's modular precast pylon segment architecture.
