Canadian TBM manufacturer Lovat has been kept busy in southern Europe recently with the breakthrough of a 6.45m diameter TBM on the Milan Metro system in Italy (above left) and the dispatch of a 6m diameter EPBM to the Seville Metro in Spain (above right).
On Friday 10th September the 6.45m diameter Lovat broke through into a reception shaft in Milan after completing 1,036m of metro tunnel. The contractor, Torno Internazionale used the refurbished Lovat RME257SE Series 17900 machine to bore the first of the twin tunnels. The TBM is now being turned ready for the 1,064m long return journey. The 5.7m i.d. lining comprises five precast segments and a key. A production best of 14 rings in 24hrs was achieved.
“La Girelda” the 6m diameter EPBM was dispatched in early September to the UTE de Sevilla JV in Seville to excavate some 4.6km of Line 1 metro tunnel through soft ground. The machine will install a 5.3m i.d. lining of re-inforced segments, with each ring 1.4m long.
