Second tunnel boring machine inspected at the manufacturer’s

Two tunnel boring machines were built by a specialized company in southern Germany for the construction of the 5777-metre-long tunnel system of the European XFEL. The first one of them, christened “TULA”, has been in operation since July 2010. The smaller machine, with an external diameter of 5,48 metres, has now been inspected for the first time.

At first sight, they look so similar that you could mistake one for the other. The cutterheads of the two tunnel boring machines with the serial numbers S-544 and S-545 have nearly the same layout. The difference in diameter of 69 centimetres is hardly noticeable on such a colossus, and only a specialist would note the slightly different arrangement of the red tools. As with the first tunnel boring machine (see News of 07 February 2010), representatives from the civil construction consortium, European XFEL GmbH and DESY travelled to the manufacturer to inspect the completed S-545. In its full length (83 metres, including the back-up system) and ready for action, it was “demonstrated” to the guests in one of the large assembly halls.

After completion of the inspection, S-545 will be disassembled again into transportable parts, which will be brought to the construction site Schenefeld in a few weeks and reassembled again inside the launch shaft. The machine is expected to take up operation in mid-January 2011. Until summer 2012, it will construct a total of eight tunnel sections for the “X-ray fan” underneath the site Schenefeld.

Good mood at the inspection of the second tunnel boring machine at the manufacturer’s. Left: the traditional picture with the guests and representatives of the manufacturer in front of the cutterhead; right: the machine in its full length.