Latest EPBMs ready for Istanbul metro 10 Jan 2019

After successful site acceptance testing, the last two 6.56m diameter EPBMs are to be delivered by Terratec for the ongoing expansion of Istanbul’s Metro system, in Turkey. Now there are a total of seven Terratec machines working on the city’s metro.

Gulermak, Nurol & Makyol JV conduct TBM testing on-site

The new TBMs will be used by the Gulermak, Nurol & Makyol JV on the Ümraniye-Ataşehir-Göztepe Metro line, which was awarded in April 2017. The 13km-long line, along with 11 new stations and NATM-built connections, will form a second north to south rail corridor under the densely-populated Anatolian side of the city and will be located entirely underground at an average depth of about 30m.

The Terratec TBMs have versatile mixed-face dome-style cutterheads with an opening ratio of about 35% and VFD electric cutterhead drives, tungsten carbide soft ground cutting tools that are interchangeable with 17’’ roller disc cutters, high torque screw conveyors and active articulation systems.

The machines will be launched from Finans Merkezi Station and excavate towards Göztepe Station. As the TBMs progress on a 24hr basis, they will install 1.5m wide by 30cm thick pre-cast concrete lining rings, which consist of five segments plus a key. Mucking will be via continuous conveyor with TBM and materials supply provided with the use of Multi-Service Vehicles (MSVs).

The Ümraniye-Ataşehir-Göztepe project is one of five new metro lines currently being built by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM).

In March 2018, one the Dudullu-Bostancı Terratec EPBMs completed an outstanding advance of 19 rings in a single shift (equating to 26.5m of excavation in just 12-hours), to accomplish a new production record for a TBM of this size and class in Istanbul.

“We are confident the new TBMs will perform as well as previous machines have in the city and we look forward to breaking more records for on-time delivery, quick assembly and excellent production rates,” said Bruce Matheson, Terratec Sales & Marketing Director.

The new lines will increase the city’s current 145km Metro network to more than 480km.