The first TBM to be used on the 37.5km of tunnels for the Grand Paris Express is currently being assembled on site at Champigny Plateau. At 9.8m diameter, the Herrenknecht EPBM will bore at a predicted rate of 12m per day to create a 2.2km long segmentally lined connection tunnel between the Champigny operating center and the main tunnel from Line 15 South at Villiers-sur-Marne.The machine was transported in sections from Herrenknecht’s factory in Schwanau and arrived in Paris between December 4th and the end of January 2018.
Contractor JV Alliance, formed between Demathieu Bard/Implenia/NGE/Pizzarotti will bore the tunnel through a generally mixed face.
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The whole alignment of the Grand Paris Express, 90% of which is underground, includes soft ground, heterogeneous ground, sand, marl, limestone, clay, chalk, alluvions, gravel, marl, gypsum, sand marl, alluvions, and scree.
By January 2018, The JVs employed by client, Société du Grand Paris to construct the separate contracts on the four new Metro Lines that make up the project – namely Lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 as well as the extensions of line 14 – have ordeded a total of 12 TBMs from Herrenknecht. The nine EPB shields and three multi-mode TBMs are:
5x EPB Shields: 9.8m diameter, lining method: Segmental lining
2x EPB Shields: 8.9m diameter, lining method: Segmental lining
2x Multi-modes: 9.8m diameter, lining method: Segmental lining
1x Multi-mode: 7.71m diamter, lining method: Segmental lining
1x EPB Shield: 9.84m diameter, lining method: Segmental lining
1x EPB Shield: 9.8m diameter, lining method: Segmental lining
Approximately 2M passengers per day are expected to use the four new lines. All planned new lines and extensions of existing lines are to be operational by 2030.
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