China's first green shield tunneling machine rolls off production line

The first China-made green shield tunneling machine rolled off the production line in the general assembly factory of the shield tunneling machine manufacturing subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CREG) on May 9, a day before the 2023 China Brand Day.

The newly launched machine is a dual-mode earth pressure shield tunneling machine with a cutter head 9.16 meters in diameter. It is 135 meters long, and weighs more than 1,900 tonnes.

As the first tunneling machine to adopt a green design in the industry, it realizes its goal of working in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way through intelligent control and advanced dust removal technology.

The machine is also equipped with technologies such as continuous boring and rapid mode switch technology, which can significantly improve its work efficiency and energy conservation and emissions reduction performance.

The new machine will be exported to serve the construction of tunnels along a high-speed railway in Italy's Sicily Island.

The railway tunnel project has used three sets of large-diameter shield tunneling machines provided by China Railway Group Limited, the parent company of CREG. When completed, the project is expected to significantly improve public transportation in Sicily Island, and become a new highlight and example of the use of Chinese high-end equipment in projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The launch of the green shield tunneling machine is believed to represent a strong boost for the competitiveness of Chinese equipment in global markets.

As of the end of 2022, CREG had exported self-developed equipment for shield tunneling to 32 countries and regions around the world, including Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Singapore, Australia, and Brazil. It had gained overseas orders for more than 100 sets of such machines.

It's worth noting that the country's first tunnel boring machine (TBM) which features a large dip angle and designed for downhill tunnels in the mining industry, the “China Railway 1285,” was also completed on May 9.

The TBM is about 82 meters long, and has a cutter head with a diameter of 5.53 meters. It will be used to construct a coal mine in Huaibei city, east China's Anhui Province.