The first shield tunneling machine for Japan’s first commercial maglev line is being built in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. The entire cutter head has been placed about 80 meters below the ground through the shaft by July 25th. The assembly is scheduled to be completed by the end of September. Starting the preparatory works for digging in October, a group of contractors led by Kumagai Gumi will begin drilling next year.

The machine will excavate approximately a 8 kilometer part of the 37-kilometer metropolitan tunnel, which will run from Tokyo to Kanagawa prefecture. JR Central’s Chuo Shinkansen maglev line will run underground as deep as 40 meters in the urban areas in Tokyo and Nagoya. The depth of the tunnel will reach 90 meters at most. The machine is 14 meters in diameter and 14.5 meters long, weighing about 3,000 tons. The digging speed is assumed to be about 20 meters per day on average and about 400 meters per month. (2020/07/28)