The morning of 11 November witnessed the successful launching of CREG's “Menghua”, the world's first large cross section U-shape TBM at Jingbian County, Shanxi Province. As the first application of U-shape TBM to soft soil mountainous railway tunnel project in China, this event marks the beginning of a new era in China's mechanical and modern railway construction process.

The tunnel section in Baicheng City is located at the junction of the Mu Us Desert and the Loess Plateau. The anticipated geology consists of soft rock and soil. Mining method in this area is not only inefficient but also carries risk of collapse and ground settlement. On the contrary, U-shape tunneling method minimizes the risk of earth fall. What’s more, the machine can drive for 200 to 300 meters a month. Such high efficiency is a reliable guarantee of finishing construction on schedule.

Over the past three months following its FAT at Zhengzhou, the machine has undergone disassembly for transport, hoisting, assembly and testing. Up to now, it has bored for 21 rings smoothly, passing the site acceptance test in a satisfactory way.

Present at the launching ceremony are Mr. Zhang Mei, Chairman and General Manager of Mengxi-Huazhong Railway Co., Ltd., Mr. Liu Hui, Deputy President of China Railway Group .Limited and Mr. Li Jianbin, Chairman of CREG.

On the same day, the big data center in the charge of the Electromechanical Branch of CREG at Chengu conducted real-time monitoring over Menghua's launching and provided guidance.