As the 8.8-meter-diameter large shield machine slowly came to a halt amid the cheers of workers on site, the right tube of the shield-driven section of Contract 04 on the New Airport Line successfully broke through, marking the completion of the first tunnel section on the New Airport Line.
The New Airport Line is a rail transit line connecting the central city with the new airport, with stations including the North Terminal Station, Cigezhuang Station and Caoqiao Station.
According to the person in charge of Contract 04 of the New Airport Line under Beijing Municipal Road & Bridge Group, the excavation of the right tube faced difficulties such as a tight schedule and passing beneath multiple first-level risk sources. “During the advance of the 8.8-meter shield machine, no inspection shaft was provided and the cutters could not be replaced, which added considerable difficulty to construction. But ultimately the right tube still achieved a single long-distance drive of 2,784 meters, with only slight wear on the cutters.”
It is reported that after completing the right-tube excavation, this 8.8-meter shield machine will immediately be put into left-tube excavation, and the left tube is expected to break through by the end of August this year.
The reporter learned that the New Airport Line is Beijing's first rail transit project built and operated under the PPP model. It adopts intercity railway standards and uses new-type regional trains, with a maximum design speed of 160 km/h, making it currently the fastest urban rail transit project in China.