The assembly of the "Qiantang" TBM for the Qiantang River Tunnel of the Hangzhou Airport High-Speed Railway is completed. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]

With the smooth descent of the 14.9-meter-diameter mega tunnel boring machine (TBM) on Dec 1, the assembly of the "Qiantang" TBM for the Qiantang River Tunnel of the Hangzhou Airport High-Speed Railway has been completed.

The milestone brings the vision of a swift and efficient transportation link across the Qiantang River one step closer to reality.

The world-class TBM spans a total length of 145 meters and weighs approximately 4,000 metric tons. The lowering and installation of the cutterhead into the shaft is the most crucial phase during the entire assembly process. A composite cutterhead weighing around 350 tons was equipped for the task.

The Hangzhou Airport High-speed Railway is the first high-speed railway in China to traverse the Qiantang River, with the main line running from Tongxiang city in Jiaxing to Keqiao district in Shaoxing. The Qiantang River Tunnel is a critical part of the project, designed as a single-bore double-track tunnel with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour. Once completed, it will be the fastest passage across the Qiantang River.

Editor: Xu Zhitian