Custom TBM design for Paris rescue tunnel 16 Aug 2018

During extension works on the Paris RER C railway line to provide a non-through safety gallery to serve the Meudon tunnel, which is located on the west of Paris in Meudon City, contractor SNCF Réseau has awarded the contract for construction to the Vinci group of Bessac (agent), Chantiers Modernes Construction and Soletanche Bachy France.

Bessac is to supply a 4.4m EPBM together with back up and rolling stock to excavate the 1700m long, 3.50m i.d tunnel. The machine is currently being manufactured at the Bessac workshop in St Jory, France, and is to be delivered next month (September 2018).

The gallery to be excavated is a non-through tunnel so the TBM has been designed specifically to be dismantles after use and recovered back through the gallery to where it started work. The TBM is also to be launched from a restricted area and is only 67m long to make launch easier. It nevertheless contains all features normally found on a larger TBM including a rescue chamber, toilets and all required devices, circuits, and utilities.