On January 5, the first double-shield hard rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the Yangtze - Hanjiang River Diversion Project, named “Yangtze - Hanjiang River Ping’an TBM”was launched in Yiling District, Yichang City, Hubei Province. It was developed by China Railway Hi-Tech Industry.
The “Yangtze - Hanjiang River Pingan TBM”is the largest and most advanced double-shield hard rock TBM used in domestic water diversion tunnel projects. It has a boring diameter of 11.93 meters, a total length of approximately 180 meters, and a total weight of about 3,550 tons. The total tunneling task spans approximately 16.6 kilometers.
As of now, four of the six TBMs manufactured by China Railway Equipment Group for the Yangtze - Hanjiang River Diversion Project have been delivered, with three (two of which are single-shield TBMs) successfully launched.