By rosebell
The Shenguan No. 6 was launched on 5 August from Working Shaft No. 5 on Lot 6 of the project in Bao’an District, Shenzhen, marking the start of full-scale mechanised tunnelling on the contract.
The machine will excavate the 8,026.3m section between shafts No. 5 and No. 6, forming a single-bore, double-track tunnel.
At 13.23m excavation diameter, the CREG-built single-shield TBM is approximately 160m long and weighs around 3,600 tonnes.
The drive presents a number of technical challenges, with the alignment passing through mixed ground comprising alternating hard and soft strata, as well as hard rock with locally developed fissure water.
The tunnel will also pass beneath the Shenzhen Metro lines 11 and 20 and the Sui-Guan-Shen Intercity Railway. Other sensitive crossings include under the Fuyong River, additional waterways and densely developed areas containing numerous existing buildings and structures.
According to CREG, the TBM was developed specifically for the geological and operational constraints of the project and incorporates technologies intended to support automated and intelligent control during the long-distance excavation.
The 116km Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway will connect Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Jiangmen and forms part of the coastal corridor of China’s national high-speed railway network.
Once operational, the railway is expected to reduce high-speed rail journey times between Shenzhen and Jiangmen to less than one hour.
