On April 16, the ultra-large-diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) “CREC Patigharong” (CREC No. 1459), developed by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group under China Railway Hi-Tech Industry, a subsidiary of CREC, officially rolled off the production line in Zhengzhou. It will be used in the West Harbour Tunnel project in Australia, setting a new record for the largest excavation diameter of a Chinese TBM exported overseas.
The West Harbour Tunnel project is located in Sydney, Australia. The tunnel is designed as a twin-bore, bidirectional highway tunnel and is one of the three core components of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link (WHTBL) project. The tunnel reaches a maximum depth of 52 meters below sea level and has a minimum turning radius of 960 meters, with an overall winding “S” shape. The geological formations it passes through include sandstone, silt, and silty clay layers, with uniaxial compressive strength reaching up to 30 MPa and even as high as 80 MPa in certain sections.
To accommodate the project’s complex geological conditions and customer requirements, the “Patigharong” TBM has a designed excavation diameter of 15.7 meters and an overall length of approximately 113 meters (excluding the trailing platform). It is equipped with multiple intelligent technologies, including robotic systems for cutterhead inspection, muck removal, and automated cutter tool replacement. The cutter change robot enables unmanned, high-precision tool replacement, improving efficiency by 5 to 8 times compared to manual operations. Additionally, the TBM features systems for real-time wear monitoring of disc cutters and grout injection rate detection, effectively addressing tunneling and settlement challenges in complex strata while enhancing overall construction efficiency and automation.
It is reported that the Western Harbour Tunnel in Australia is expected to open to traffic in 2028. As Sydney’s first newly constructed harbour tunnel in nearly 30 years, it will significantly reduce travel time between North Sydney and Sydney Olympic Park or Leichhardt by 20 minutes upon completion.
