NFM TBMs for Beijing metro expansion
Jan 2009
- NFM Technologies has signed a contract to supply two 6.28m diameter EPBMs for Line 10 of the Beijing subway system.
- The two machines for China Railway Construction (B12), will bore a twin-tube tunnel for about 8km. The first machine will complete the two 3,225m long tubes between Chaoqiao and Fanjiachun stations and the second will bore twice the 808m distance separating Fanjiachun and Mengjiachun stations.
- The excavation is to be carried out in tricky conditions. In addition to difficult conglomerate geology, the TBMs will cross a dense urban area, passing under the city’s third orbital highway ring road and 9m to 17m under important historic buildings.
- The machines are scheduled to be delivered in July and August 2009.
- There are eight lines of more than 200km of tracks and 123 stations currently in operation on the city’s mass transit system (solid lines on Fig 1 marking Lines 1, 2, 5, 8 (Phase 1), 10 (Phase 1), 13, Batong, and the Airport Express) and these support an average ridership of 3.4 million/day. Three of these existing lines were opened on July 19, 2008 ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games.
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Fig 1. Beijing Metro: Solid lines = in operation; dashed lines = under construction
- The Chinese government's ¥4 trillion economic stimulus package has accelerated the timetable for expanding the system. In addition to seven lines already under construction, work is set to begin this year on six new lines. All these are dashed lines on Fig 1 marking Lines 4, 6, 7, 8 (Phase II), 9, 10 (Phase II), 14, and the Daxing, and Yizhuang suburban links. These lines will double the network in size to 420km by 2012. The system’s masterplan calls for 19 lines and 561km of tracks in operation by 2015.
