Recently, the Guangzhou East to Huadu Tiangui Intercity Railway (hereinafter referred to as "Guanghua Intercity") added another shield tunneling drive — the first earth pressure/slurry dual-mode dual-channel shield machine on the entire line, "Tiebing · Guanghua No. 19," officially launched, commencing shield tunneling on the left line of the section from Yinghu Line Depot to Fenghuang South Road Station (hereinafter referred to as the "Yingfeng Section"). At this point, all shield tunneling launches for the Yinghu Line Depot to Fenghuang South Road section have been completed.

According to reports, the Yingfeng Section has a total length of approximately 2,800 meters. After launching from Yinghu Line Depot, the shield machine drives westward, then makes a small-radius turn north after passing beneath a cluster of shantytowns, crosses highways and rivers along the route, and then enters Fenghuang South Road Station. This section is located in an area of strong karst soil cave development, with a cave encounter rate as high as 63.9%. Unfavorable strata such as gravelly sand, carbonaceous limestone, and limestone karst soil caves are widely distributed, making it highly prone to risks such as water and sand ingress at the portal during shield launching and reception. In addition, the machine must pass beneath and through building clusters in soft-over-hard strata, with high settlement control requirements, great technical difficulty, and high safety risks.

The project team carried out advance grouting reinforcement in the water-rich sand layer to reduce the risk of ground settlement during tunneling, and adopted the freezing method locally to further ensure stratum stability. Based on construction experience in similar strata, the team customized the dual-mode dual-channel shield machine "Tiebing · Guanghua No. 19" to handle tunneling on the left line of the Yingfeng Section. The shield machine has dual earth pressure and slurry mode functions and can switch between different tunneling modes according to different geological conditions.

The shield machine is also equipped with a dual-channel mucking system, which can flexibly switch mucking channels during tunneling according to different strata and tunneling parameters. It can better adapt to tunneling work under special and complex geological conditions and better ensure construction safety. A steel sleeve is also installed at the shield launching section, which both protects the shield cutterhead and reduces stratum pressure, improving construction efficiency and safety.

In addition, the shield launching shaft originally planned at Fenghuang South Road Station was relocated to Yinghu Line Depot, avoiding the impact of cross-construction with other stations on safety and schedule and further accelerating the efficiency and pace of shield construction.

As of now, the civil engineering works of the Guanghua Intercity have completed 27% cumulatively. Civil engineering construction is underway at 7 stations across the entire line; of the 7 sections, 5 are under civil engineering construction and 2 are in preliminary preparation; a total of 9 shield machines are tunneling, and civil engineering construction is underway at the Airport Vehicle Depot.

(Note: Station names are provisional project names only; standard station names shall be subject to those approved and announced by the municipal government.)