| NEWS


CRCHI large diameter TBM for Yangtze River Tunnel CHINA - A 16.64m-diameter TBM has been manufactured by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation Ltd’s (CRCHI), at its factory in Changsha, Hunan, to work on the Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel project. The TBM, named ‘Jianghai’, is


approximately 145m long and weighs 5,000 tonnes. The Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel project,


in the Yangtze River estuary area of Jiangsu Province, will stretch from Haimen District in Nantong in the north and to Taicang City in Suzhou in the south. The total length of the bi-directional, six-lane highway is 39.07km, with a cross-river tunnel length of 11.185km. The bored tunnel section is 9.3km long. It is due to be completed in 2028. The tunnel will traverse complex


geological belts such as silty clay, and silty clay interbedded with silt and fine sand. The maximum depth will be around 75m and the highest water pressure 7.5 bars. To cope with the challenges, the TBM is


equipped with a soft soil cutterhead with accessible cutterhead and alloy cutters that are large, hard, widely covered, and wear-resistant. CRCHI said the main drive has a telescopic function that can sense the overall force of the cutterhead, effectively avoiding abnormal force caused by overload of the main bearing under special circumstances, facilitating cutter change operations, and assisting the cutterhead to break out. It is equipped with a main drive status monitoring system to continuously monitor the operating status.


Shaft dig start for Ontario Line TBM launch CANADA - Excavation has started for the TBM launch site for Toronto’s new Ontario Line.


A 16m-deep shaft near Exhibition Station


will become the starting point for two TBMs that will dig approximately 6km-long twin tunnels. Following tunnelling, the launch shaft will become the portal where Ontario Line trains will transition, travelling east, from above to below ground. When complete, the Ontario Line will


be a 15.6km-long subway that will mean 227,500 more people are within walking distance to a transit station. More than half the route will be underground. In November 2022 Infrastructure Ontario


and Metrolinx awarded the Can$6bn fixed- price contract to Ontario Transit Group (OTG) for the design, build and finance of


the Southern Civil, Stations and Tunnel (South Civil) package. OTG comprises Ferrovial Construction Canada, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Aecom Canada Ltd, Cowi North America, GHD, Sener Group, Janin Atlas, and Agentis Capital. The public-private partnership (PPP,


or P3) contract also includes four new underground stations.


Tunnels for Oxford- Cambridge rail link UK - Two new tunnels are proposed in revised plans for a new railway line linking Oxford and Cambridge. East West Railway Company (EWR Co)


recently launched a public consultation on updated plans for the rail project to connect Oxford, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge. Passenger services would start


along the first stage of East West Rail (EWR), between Oxford and Bletchley, in 2025, according to the updated plans. The updated proposals contain revised


infrastructure and design plans for a new stretch of railway between Bedford and Cambridge, plus essential railway improvement works to upgrade the existing railway between Oxford and Bedford.


Final TBM launched for Sydney Metro West AUSTRALIA - Boring has begun on the final section of tunnel for the Sydney Metro West project. TBM ‘Ruby’, the last of six TBMs to be


launched on the project, has joined TBM ‘Jessie’ in constructing 2.3km-long twin railway tunnels beneath Sydney Harbour. The 1,100-tonne machine will tunnel


alongside the Anzac Bridge, through the Pyrmont Station site, and under Darling Harbour, before arriving at its final destination at Hunter Street in the Sydney central business district (CBD). A total of 460,000 tonnes of material


is to be excavated and 16,536 segments installed by the two TBMs to construct the tunnels between The Bays and Hunter Street. The tunnels will form Sydney’s second under-harbour railway crossing. TBMs Ruby and Jessie are mixed shield


machines, designed for highly pressurised conditions that are anticipated under Sydney Harbour. Parts of the machines came from TBMs used to construct the Sydney Metro City & Southwest tunnels. John Holland CPB Contractors Ghella


Joint Venture is excavating the under- harbour tunnels and two new station


caverns at Pyrmont and Hunter Street as part of the Sydney Metro West – Eastern Tunnelling Package.


JV construction manager for East River Tunnel US - STV and Naik Consulting Group are to provide construction management services for Amtrak’s East River Tunnel (ERT) Rehabilitation project on its Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger rail line in the US. The joint venture comprises STV, a


professional services firm that plans, designs and manages infrastructure projects across North America, and Naik Consulting Group, an infrastructure design and construction/programme management company concentrated in the New York and New Jersey area. The project involves reconstructing


and upgrading all tunnel systems along the corridor, including demolishing all existing tunnel systems down to the liner; rehabilitating the tunnel structure; replacing cable benches; installing new fire life safety systems; replacing signals and traction power; and, converting the tracks to a modern, direct fixation track system. In addition to the underground locations,


work will also be undertaken at Penn Station in Manhattan, and Sunnyside Yard in Queens.


London sees Bakerloo Line extension studies advance UK - Transport for London (TfL) has appointed WW+P Architects to provide design services for four new tube stations as part of the proposed Bakerloo Line Extension project. The work consists of a feasibility study


for new stations at Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate, Lewisham. The Bakerloo Line Extension, which is subject to planning and funding approval, could be operational by 2040, said TfL. The Bakerloo Line was built in 1906 and


currently terminates at its southern end at Elephant & Castle station, on the south side of the River Thames. WW+P will work with Aecom on the


project. In 2022, TfL appointed Dr Sauer &


Partners and Arup to undertake feasibility studies for five packages of rail tunnelling works, and another for cross-passages. An extension to the Bakerloo Line was


mooted in 2014. There is currently an upgrade project for Elephant & Castle station.


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