On September 12, the large-diameter slurry/EPB dual-mode shield machine "Dianyue" — jointly developed and manufactured by Kunming Metro Group, China Railway Tunnel Group, and China Railway Engineering Equipment Group — rolled off the production line successfully. It is the first large-diameter slurry dual-mode shield machine in Yunnan Province and will be used for the shield-driven tunnel section of Kunming Changshui Airport Metro Line 6.

As Yunnan Province's first large-diameter dual-mode shield metro project, Phase III of the Changshui Line 6 project links Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of Kunming Changshui International Airport and is a core project for strengthening the transport connection between the airport and the central urban area. The line has a total length of 4,308 meters, including an underground section of about 2,880 meters and a shield-driven section of 2,569 meters. During construction, the shield machine will also pass beneath ground-level risk sources such as the airport perimeter wall, the apron, taxiways, and cargo passages, imposing stringent requirements on construction settlement control.

In response to the complex conditions of this project — hard rock, karst caves, small-radius curve boring, and passing beneath the airport — the China Railway Engineering Equipment Group design team carried out a completely new, targeted design based on the project's characteristics and successfully developed the "Dianyue" large-diameter slurry/EPB dual-mode shield machine. The machine has an excavation diameter of 11.6 meters and an overall length of 145 meters, and is equipped with advanced technologies such as a real-time cutter condition monitoring system, significantly enhancing its adaptability and construction safety in complex strata.

It is reported that Phase III of the Changshui Line 6 project, as an airport line connecting Kunming Changshui Airport with the city center, will upon completion provide a rapid direct link between Terminal 2 and the main urban area, further improving Kunming's rail transit network, enhancing the efficiency of transport connections between the airport and the city's core area, and facilitating passengers' rapid access to and from the airport.