World's largest-diameter shield tunneling machine for high-speed rail assembled

Weighing 440 tonnes, the cutter of a　shield tunneling　machine was smoothly hoisted from the ground to the well under the coordination of two crawler cranes　on Wednesday in Shanghai.　

The cutter and the main engine were accurately docking, and the combination of the cutter and the main engine was successfully completed.

It marked the assembly of the shield tunneling　machine　"Linghang"　entering the final stage. It　will be used　in　a tunnel across the Yangtze River for the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu　high-speed railway.　

The　shield tunneling machine　has a total length　of 128 meters　and weighs 4,000 tonnes. The shield tunneling machine is composed of a cutter, a main engine, an equipment bridge and a 4-section trailer.

The cutter　has a　diameter of　15.4 meters, and the machine　is the world's largest-diameter shield tunneling machine　for high-speed railway. Starting from Chongming District in Shanghai, the shield tunneling machine will drill　11,325.5 meters across the Yangtze River to Taicang City in Jiangsu Province.　

(Reported by Pu Fan; Edited by Jiang Lu)