China Completes Cutting Medium- And Low-Speed Maglev Tunnel With Shield Tunneling Machine

BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) — China completed the cutting of a medium- and low-speed maglev tunnel using a China-made shield tunneling machine on Saturday, in Changsha, capital city of central China’s Hunan Province.

   It is the first time the country has cut a maglev tunnel of this sort using such a method, said China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd.

   The 2.85-km tunnel, 27 meters below the earth, is part of a maglev train line leading to Terminal 3 of the Changsha Huanghua International Airport, according to the company.

   The shield tunneling method helps to ensure that ground subsidence is limited to 0.2 millimeters, it said.