On the morning of December 28

Cutterhead painted with the "Lord Rabbit" (Tu'er Ye)

the "Jingtong Hao" super-large-diameter shield tunneling machine

was successfully launched in Beijing's sub-center

The Yunchaojian River Tunnel project of the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway

has entered the shield tunneling stage

moving toward the full opening of the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway

taking a key step forward‍

The Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway starts from Beijing Sub-Center Station, passes through Tongzhou District of Beijing, Langfang City of Hebei Province, and Baodi District of Tianjin, and finally reaches Tangshan City of Hebei Province. Among these, the Yanjiao-to-Tangshan section was already opened for operation on December 30, 2022. The Beijing underground section undertaken by China Railway 14th Bureau Group is the "final link" for the full opening of the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway, with a total length of 2.4 kilometers.

The "Jingtong Hao" shield tunneling machine launched this time has an excavation diameter of 13.3 meters, making it the largest-diameter shield tunneling machine for a railway tunnel in Beijing. Its cutterhead is painted with the image of the "Lord Rabbit," an intangible cultural heritage item highly characteristic of Beijing, symbolizing smoothness and peace. It is another successful collaboration between excellent traditional culture and a major national heavy equipment.

According to Sun Lijun, project manager of China Railway 14th Bureau Group, the Yunchaojian River Tunnel is an important part of the under-construction Beijing underground section of the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway, the last tunnel before the full line is opened, and also the first large-diameter shield tunnel for a high-speed railway in the Beijing Sub-Center area. The "Jingtong Hao" shield tunneling machine was launched in an ultra-shallow cover soil stratum and will bore 1,285 meters westward in a single heading, sequentially passing beneath risk sources such as the Yunchaojian River and the Luxian Gucheng site, before being received at Beijing Sub-Center Station. The entire section of this bid is adjacent to the Beijing-Harbin Railway line, with the closest distance to the operating line being only 13.7 meters. Ensuring the stable operation of the operating line is a major construction challenge.

To ensure that the shield tunneling machine completes excavation in high-density medium sand stratum in one pass, China Railway 14th Bureau Group leveraged its key technical advantages in super-large-diameter shield tunneling and worked with CRCHI to tailor this super-large-diameter slurry balance shield tunneling machine, equipped with advanced detection devices that can perform real-time detection of cutter wear during tunneling, improve tunneling efficiency, and ensure construction safety.

In addition, the builders will use intelligent equipment for precise adjustment and assembly of box culverts to solve assembly difficulties such as simultaneous construction, intelligent and efficient operation, and control precision, ensuring that the tunnel section of the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway is implemented smoothly according to the established goals.

As a rapid transportation corridor from Beijing to Tangshan, the Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway will effectively improve the transport service level of the intercity corridor from Tongzhou, Beijing to Tangshan after opening. At the same time, together with the surrounding rapid passenger transport network, it will jointly form the rail transit network of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and accelerate the building of a "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei on Rails."

Relevant leaders from the National Railway Administration, the Beijing Municipal Major Projects Office, the Tongzhou District Major Projects Office, China Railway Beijing Group, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Railway Company, the Beijing-Tangshan Railway Company, the Beijing Shield Tunneling Engineering Association, and other units, Jiang Wei, a leader of China Railway 14th Bureau Group, and relevant responsible persons from the Tunnel Company attended the launch ceremony.