China's super-sized shield machine ready to go into operation

BEIJING - China has manufactured a super-sized earth pressure balance shield machine, which is ready to be put into operation, according to China Railway Construction Corporation.

The shield machine, named "Jinxiu," rolled off the production line on Saturday.

Boasting a tunneling diameter of 12.79 meters, it is the largest of its kind developed by China with complete proprietary intellectual property rights, said the company.

With a total length of 135 meters and a weight of 3,000 tonnes, the machine will be used for the construction of the Jinxiu Tunnel, a part of the Chengdu-Zigong high-speed railway project.

The project, the first high-speed railway with a speed of 350 km per hour in Southwest China's Sichuan province, started in 2019.