On November 4, the first EPB TBM for export manufactured by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. (CREG) under CRHIC, successfully completed the right-line tunnel excavation of the Halkali-Ispartakule High-speed Railway project, marking a phased progress in the project construction.

The project encompasses two excavation intervals: the left and right tunnelling intervals. Two sets of EPB TBM with the excavation diameter of 8.54m are applied in the project construction. The tunnelling mileage per TBM is around 6km and the largest buried depth is 55m. The stratum soils mainly include clay, silt, sandstone, conglomerate, claystone and marlstone. The project will cross the Küçükçekmece Lake and the proposed Istanbul Canal.

The EPB TBM deployed for the Right Line of the project spans 135 meters in length and weighs 1,800 tons. During the preliminary design phase, the design team meticulously considered the requirements of on-site operations, and created a more spacious and operator-friendly environment by improving spaces for the equipment inspection and operation. Additionally, the equipment, in strict conformity with the CE standard, is highly reliable and safe, thereby guaranteeing the smooth progress of the project. Currently, the twin brother of the equipment is utilized in the Left Line tunnelling. The Left Line and Right Line tunnelling engineering will be completed by early 2025.