Hefty tunneling machine ready for Italian railway project

China Railway Engineering Equipment Group announced that a recor-setting tunnel-boring machine is ready to be delivered to Italy for use in the Napoli-Bari High-Speed Railway. It is the largest machine of its kind to be exported to Europe from China.

The diameter of the machine, built at the company's Tianjin branch in the Dongjiang Bonded Area, is a record 12.2 meters, the company said in a news release.

In Italy, the high-speed railway tunnel will be 12.8 kilometers long. Upon completion, the line will be a key link connecting Bari, on the eastern shore, with Napoli on the west.

The machine was designed with the tunnel's curvature limitations in mind, as well as the challenge of combustible gases underground, such as methane. It is 12.2 meters in diameter, 122 meters long and a weighs 3,300 metric tons. It also incorporates anti-explosion features to prevent trouble with the dangerous gases.

In addition, the company is building another machine that's even larger, with a diameter of 12.5 meters. It is expected to be completed by the end of August.