The "Matucana" departed! The shield of Santiago Metro Line 7 in Chile departed

On May 6, local time, the "Matucana" shield machine of the Santiago Metro Line 7 project in Chile undertaken by China Railway Construction was successfully launched, marking the official entry of the shield construction subway project of Chinese enterprises in Chile, and the project is also the first subway tunnel constructed by the TBM earth pressure balance method in Chile.

Chinese Ambassador to Chile Niu Qingbao, Economic and Commercial Counsellor Mark Qiang, Chilean Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Juan Carlos Muñoz, as well as Chinese and Chilean builders and local community residents witnessed this historic moment. In his speech, Carlos first expressed his gratitude to CRCC, and announced the start of the shield after naming the shield machine.

Niu Qingbao said that since the start of construction of Santiago Metro Line 7 in Chile, the construction team of China Railway Construction Project has overcome many difficulties, successfully ensured the implementation of the project, and won a good reputation in the local area. As the first metro tunnel in Chile to be constructed using the TBM earth pressure balance method, the smooth start of the shield machine is of great significance.

The project is led and organized by China Railway Construction International, giving full play to the synergistic advantages of China's railway construction industry in the Chilean market, and driving China Railway 22nd Bureau and China Railway Construction Heavy Industry to go to sea together. The project is located in Santiago, the capital of Chile, with a total length of 27 kilometers and a total of 19 stations. The construction bid section has a total length of 7.9 kilometers, including 6.7 kilometers of shield construction tunnels, 7 island stations, and construction shafts. After the completion of the project, the travel time of the whole line will be shortened from the original 90 minutes to 43 minutes, providing fast and convenient travel services for more than 1.36 million residents.

The project line passes through the Mapocho River and other complex geological environment areas, with a minimum turning radius of 250 meters, which requires a high turning capacity of the shield machine. In order to ensure the safe and efficient excavation of the shield machine over long distances and actively respond to the complex local geological environment, China Railway Construction has independently developed a number of core key technologies, and the shield machine adopts the composite cutterhead design of "six spokes + six panels", which can realize positive and negative two-way rotation slag removal, and can also control the turning radius through the stroke difference of each group of propulsion cylinders to meet the needs of project construction.

With a length of 105 meters and an excavation diameter of 9.8 meters, the Matucana TBM is named and designed with Chilean characteristics. "Matucana" is an ancient indigenous language in northern Chile, meaning Mother Earth, which means that the shield machine will be safe and smooth when working underground. The name was voted by Chilean citizens' representatives, and it expresses the hope of the Chilean people to rely on China's large shield technology to open up the underground transportation network and promote local development. The cutterhead of the shield machine adopts the Chilean metro logo composed of three continuous diamonds as the background pattern, and the fuselage is painted with the slogan "Line 7, we are coming" in Spanish art font to express the good wishes of Chinese enterprises to the Chilean people.

The Santiago Metro Line 7 project is a key project of the Chilean government in recent years, and since the launch of the project, it has attracted the attention of many Chilean dignitaries and local residents. China Railway has established sufficient local development, contracted a number of medical, highway franchise and other projects, driven Chinese equipment into the South American market, and contributed to the economic and trade cooperation between China and Chile.

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