PIONEERING TUNNELLING TECHNOLOGY FOR UNDERGROUND
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS.

Herrenknecht produces superlative tunnelling machines for the construction of new transportation tunnels. In 2006, the world's largest EPB shield with a diameter of 15.20 meters is to finish a 3.6km long motorway tube in Madrid. In the same year, the two world's largest Mixshields, the S-317 and S-318, diameter 15.43 meters, line up to start boring two 7.4km long motorway tubes under the Yangtze River in Shanghai.

The longest tunnels in the world are being built with Herrenknecht tunnelling technology. Since 2002, four Herrenknecht  Gripper TBM's have been boring and supporting the main tubes for the new Gotthard Base Tunnel. At 114km (2 x 57km) this is the longest railroad tunnel in the world. The first trains are due to start rolling through the new Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.

70% of the Traffic Tunnelling Machines commissioned from Herrenknecht are being deployed for the construction of new underground metro tunnels. In  Madrid, Rome, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Peking, Moscow, New Dehli or Cologne - everywhere Herrenknecht EPB Shields and Mixshields are rapidly extending inner urban metro lines.

The Hard Rock Single Shields S-233 and S-234 are being used to bore through the San Bernhardino mountains. The completion of the Arrowhead Tunnel represents a further step towards guaranteeing the supply of water to south California and to the Los Angeles conurbation in particular.

The city of Portland (Oregon, USA) will in the future have improved protection against rain induced flooding. To prevent untreated sewage getting into the Willamette River a total of 3 Herrenknecht machines are putting tunnels in place to collect flood water and direct it to a treatment plant.

With ever increasing frequency, multi-use is part of tunnel design. Two examples: in the tunnel under the Silver Pine Forest in Moscow (Mixshield S-250, diameter of 14.2 m), motor vehicles will use the upper part and the carriages of the metro system will travel along the lower part. Both tunnels of the SMART Project in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (S-252 and S-253, each with a diameter of 13.21 m) are laid out so that, if necessary, during the monsoon season the two upper levels can be barred to vehicular traffic and used instead to divert floodwater that would otherwise inundate the town. This will protect the town from being inundated by storm surges.