TBM in the Filder Tunnel has completed the first Shield Drive
The tunnel boring machine (TBM) driving the Filder Tunnel as part of the Stuttgart 21 infrastructure project has completed its first drive in the middle of November 2015. The Filder Tunnel (PfA 1.2) has a length of 9.5 km and links the main station of Stuttgart in the valley to the Filder Plain, which is about 155 m higher. Construction is executed by the ATCOST 21 consortium under the technical lead of Porr Bau GmbH.
The Herrenknecht machine called Suse is currently in the east bore, in which the track from Ulm to Stuttgart will later run, at chainage 4080 m. To reach this point in the Stuttgart suburb of Hoffeld, it has installed a lining of 1967 segment rings each consisting of six large precast concrete segments and one keystone.
The machine including cutting wheel will now be dismantled in the tunnel. The shield skin will remain in the tunnel and the backup will be pulled out backwards. In the construction pit at the Filder portal, the TBM will be prepared for the coming excavation of the west bore, which according to information from German Railways DB should start in early 2016.
