THE “Shenjiang No. 1” tunnel boring machine has been put into use on the construction of the Pearl River Estuary Tunnel of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen High-speed Railway, a major transportation project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to Shenzhen Evening News on Thursday.

The machine has a 13.42-meter excavation diameter, is 130 meters long and weighs 3,800 tons.

Manufactured by the 14th Bureau of China Railway,  “Shenjiang No. 1” has complete intellectual property rights.

Its cutter head is painted with a “dancing lion,” featuring characteristics of Guangdong’s regional culture.

The 106-meter undersea tunnel, which is currently the deepest cross-harbor tunnel in China, will connect Qianhai & Shekou Area of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone in Shenzhen (Qianhai & Shekou FTZ) and the Nansha FTZ in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, via rail.

Upon completion in 2025, the Shenzhen-Jiangmen railway will bring the two FTZs into a half-hour life circle. It will also be conducive in creating half-hour living circles and economic circles in the GBA, and is highly significant in promoting economic and social development of regions along the route, and the province’s coordinated development, according to the newspaper.

The 116.12-kilometer railway, running through the center of the GBA, is a strategic line of the country’s “eight vertical and eight horizontal” coastal high-speed railway network.

The Pearl River Estuary Tunnel, a key project of the railway, spans 13.69 kilometers, with a 11.05-kilmeter underwater section and a 120-kilometer-per-hour designed speed.

The railway will go 45 kilometers underground and 69.2 kilometers on a bridge, passing through five cities, namely Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan and Jiangmen. It will have seven stations, including two in Shenzhen — Xili Station and Shenzhen Airport Station.

The railway is part of the Shenzhen-Maoming High-speed Railway and will connect with the Ganzhou-Shenzhen High-speed Railway at Xili Station; Hangzhou-Shenzhen High-speed Railway and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway at Shenzhen North Station; and the planned Guangzhou-Shenzhen Second High-speed Railway at Shenzhen Airport Station.

(Han Ximin)