The No. 2 section shield tunnel of the first railway connecting the urban area and the airport in East China's Shanghai Municipality was dug through on April 12.
It is expected to lay a solid foundation for construction of China's first direct airport-railway line linking two airports and three train stations.
A view inside the No. 2 section shield tunnel of the connecting line between the urban area and the airport in East China's Shanghai [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Starting from Hongqiao Station, the connecting line passes Minhang, Xuhui and Pudong districts, and terminates at Shanghai East Railway Station. The entire line is 68.6 kilometers, having nine stations and a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
The No. 2 section shield tunnel of the connecting line is a key part of the entire project and is contracted by China Railway 14th Bureau Group Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited. The tunnel is 4,939.8 meters and was excavated by a 14-meter ultra-large diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM).
It is currently the first small-spacing and long-distance large-diameter shield tunnel that runs beside the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway. The smallest space between the two lines is only 8.1 meters.
A mid-board transportation vehicle operates in the tunnel [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
What's more, the tunnel section is built under municipal roads, other rail lines and bridges of highways, making its construction full of challenges.
In response to the special engineering condition, China Railway 14th Bureau Group Corporation Limited developed the New Chuanyuehao TBM with independent intellectual property rights.
Equipped with several key technologies such as high-pressure main drive sealing and large flow mud scouring circulation systems, highly-efficient material transportation devices and smart prefabricated component assembly systems, the machine has outstanding performance in adaptation and reliability.
The New Chuanyuehao tunnel boring machine specially developed for the connecting line project between the urban area and the airport in Shanghai is ready for operation. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Technicians inspect the tunneling condition of the New Chuanyuehao tunnel boring machine [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
Once operational, the connecting line between the urban area and the airport in Shanghai is expected to shorten travel time between the Hongqiao and Pudong comprehensive traffic hub from 90 to 40 minutes.
It will also serve the development of the city cluster in the Yangtze River Delta region, improve Shanghai's international competitiveness and support implementation of the national strategy for development of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region.
(Executive editor: Liu Ruochen)
