Recently, as the cutterhead of the "Tielong" shield machine slowly rotated, the shield tunneling of the moving line of the Qianhuang section of the Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen intercity railway was successfully launched, marking another solid step forward in the project's construction.

The moving line of the Qianhuang section of the Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen intercity railway includes a shield tunnel and the No. 2 open-cut section. The shield tunnel under construction this time is 2,264.5 m long, laid from south to north, and is a single-tube single-track tunnel.

The shield machine is launched from the No. 2 open-cut section and received at the large-mileage end of Huanggang Port Station. The launch shaft is located on a major urban arterial road with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic; the launch site is undulating and small, and shield launching is carried out concurrently with the main structure works, resulting in a tight schedule and heavy tasks.

Shield launching

During construction, the participating units had to overcome many difficulties:

The tunnel passes through composite strata with alternating soft and hard ground and high geological risk, placing high demands on the cutterhead structure (opening ratio, diameter limitation, wear resistance) and on the performance of the shield machine.

The section passes beneath and alongside numerous buildings and structures, posing high environmental risk and placing high demands on safety measures such as construction monitoring and follow-up grouting.

The section construction faces challenges including a large longitudinal slope (34‰), great burial depth (40.2 m), and long excavation (2.26 km), placing high demands on the performance of the shield equipment and on the management capability and technical level of management and construction personnel.

To advance construction, the participating units tackled the difficulties head-on, planned ahead, organized scientifically, and strengthened resource allocation by adding personnel and equipment and improving work efficiency, taking only 20 days from the shield's hoisting and lowering into the shaft to its official launch.