Belgrade Metro Tunnel Boring Machine Arrives in Pancevo
The first of two machines that will dig Belgrade's first metro line has reached Pancevo Port on the Danube. The second is still en route to Serbia, the Belgrade Metro and Train company said.
A machine 108 meters long and weighing about 1,800 tons, the first of two that will dig the tunnel for Belgrade’s first metro line, has arrived at Pancevo Port. The public utility company Belgrade Metro and Train said on November 5 that this marks “significant progress in preparations for the start of work on building the metro tunnel.” The machine is known in the trade as a TBM, or tunnel boring machine, and colloquially in Serbian as a “krtica,” or mole.
In brief:
- machine length: 108 meters
- weight: about 1,800 tons
- manufacturer: Chinese company CRCHI, Changsha
- parts delivered by road from Constanta: 29 trucks
- length of the underground tunnel: about 11 kilometers, in two sections
Who built the machines and what was checked before shipping?
Both machines were built at the factory of the Chinese company CRCHI (China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corporation) in Changsha. There they passed a factory check of technical soundness known as the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). The company states: “All key mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and control systems were checked during testing.” According to the announcement, this confirmed that the machines meet the required technical standards.
How did the machine get to Pancevo?
The main part of the first machine sailed from China to Europe, and from there up the Danube to Pancevo Port. Some components traveled by road from Constanta in Romania, which took 29 trucks. The second machine is, according to the same announcement, currently being transported to Serbia, so for now only the first one is in the port.
Where does the digging start and where do the machines meet?
The underground tunnel of the first line is about 11 kilometers long and divided into two sections. One machine will begin digging from the site of the future Bele Vode station at Makis, heading toward the Sajam station. The other starts from a launch shaft in Karaburma, near the Pancevo Bridge. The machines will therefore work at the same time from opposite ends of the route, advancing toward each other.
Belgrade Metro and Train says this split will allow more efficient delivery of one of the technically most demanding parts of the first metro line.
What comes next before digging begins?
The main part of the first machine still has to be moved from Pancevo Port to the launch site at the future Bele Vode station in Makis. Assembly and technical preparation for the start of tunnel digging will take place there. Until then the machine stays in the Pancevo port while the second one is still on its way to Serbia, and the announcement does not give a date for the start of work.
