On June 16, the transport and entry of the three major components of the "Red Boat" shield machine for the Fenhu Tunnel of the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo Section II Bid Division I was successfully completed, marking the project's full entry into the shield machine assembly and commissioning stage.

The Fenhu Tunnel crosses the provincial border between Zhejiang and Jiangsu, with a total length of 3,242 m (excluding the open-cut section), of which 1,013.41 m is within Jiangsu and 2,228.59 m within Zhejiang. The tunnel is designed as a single-tube, double-track tunnel and will be bored by one 14.8 m slurry shield. According to the plan, the shield will be launched from No. 2 Shield Shaft of the Fenhu Tunnel in Taozhuang Town, Jiashan County, and received at No. 1 Shield Shaft in Wujiang District, Suzhou. The construction adopts the shield method plus open-cut method, and the tunnel is designed for a speed of 350 km/h.

The cutterhead center block, the segment erector assembly and the main drive transported and brought on site this time are oversized and overweight components. To ensure the smooth entry of these three major components, the project planned ahead and organized scientifically. With the full support of the county railway command office, the town government and the village committee, it carried out advance surveys of the access roads and bridges, roadside trees and houses adjacent to the roads, devised an entry plan, conducted a safety evaluation of the transport route, installed a bridge-over-bridge structure to protect the original bridge, arranged temporary avoidance of trees, and carried out a social risk assessment. It also held several special meetings and formulated detailed traffic control plans, hoisting plans and emergency response plans, thereby ensuring the safe and smooth entry of the large equipment.

Next, all staff of the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo Section II Bid Division I will continue to maintain high morale and a rigorous working attitude, fully launch the assembly and commissioning of the shield machine, and plan to officially start boring in early August, thus beginning the journey of the "Red Boat" shield machine crossing Fenhu Lake.