Robbins EPBs will Link up Chinese Cities

Robbins is now dismantling the second EPB machine in a local workshop for launch on a parallel tunnel at the end of January 2009. Machine assembly of both TBMs and back-up systems was performed in Guangzhou under direction of the Robbins EPB Division.

The EPBs will bore parallel tunnels connecting the three stations of Jushu, Xilang, and Hedong. The machines will be launched from a common 16 m (53 ft) deep shaft. Each tunnel will be bored in two sections between the stations, totaling about 2.6 km (1.6 mi) in length.

Both disc cutters and soft ground cutting tools will be used on the machines to excavate complex mixed face geology including weathered rock, coarse sand, and silt at pressures up to 4 bar. As the machines bore, they will line the tunnels with concrete segments 300 mm (12 in) thick in a 5+1 arrangement.

Tunneling is scheduled for completion in late 2009. Once operational, the 33 km (20 mi) long Guang-Fo line will provide service between Guangzhou and the neighboring city of Foshan in China's Guangdong Province. The line is part of the Chinese government's Pearl River Delta Inter-City Rapid Rail Project, which aims to link up nine cities in Guangdong, including Shenzhen and Dongguan, by 2015.


Contact:
The Robbins Company
Brianna Home
29100 Hall Street
Solon, OH 44139
PH.: 253.872.4484
E-Mail: homeb@robbinstbm.com
Internet: www.robbinstbm.com