The 'Linghang' shield machine, the world's largest diameter high-speed rail shield machine, has resumed drilling after 41 days of deep maintenance. The machine is now starting its land-based section of the project at the Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel No. 2 shaft.
The tunnel project connects Shanghai Chongming and Jiangsu Taicang. It is a key part of the the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei high-speed railway's Shanghai-Ningbo section. The total length of the tunnel is 14.25 kilometers, with the shield-drilling section covering 13.2 kilometers.
The shield-drilling section is divided into a water-based section of 11.3255 kilometers and a land-based section of 1.8755 kilometers. The 'Linghang' machine aims to set a world record for a 15-meter class ultra-large diameter shield machine drilling a single-head distance of 13.2 kilometers.
The 'Linghang' machine features a cutterhead diameter of 15.4 meters, a total length of 148 meters, and a total weight of approximately 4,000 tons. The project is expected to achieve full line breakthrough by the end of 2026.
Once operational, the high-speed rail will connect Chongming to the Shanghai Baoshan Station via Taicang, reducing the travel time to just 17 minutes. This will end the history of Chongming Island having no railway access.
