Blog

Jul 28, 2023

Grand Paris Express TBM completes excavation on Line 16

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) Mireille, operated by contractors Webuild and

The tunnel boring machine (TBM) Mireille, operated by contractors Webuild and NGE, has broken through in a shaft at the Mare au Chanvre site, completing its 5.3km drive for Line 16 of the Grand Paris Express.

Italian contractor Webuild and its local partner NGE recently celebrated the tunnelling milestone, which took place in a shaft in northern Paris.

TBM Mireille broke through the wall of the shaft at the Mare au Chanvre work site in Sevran. It is the first of two TBMs working on the section of the line – known as lot 2 – to complete its journey.

Mireille has now finished work on the first 5.3km of the tunnel, connecting Chelles with the municipality of Sevran. As as result, approximately 83% of lot 2 is now complete.

The TBM will now be dismantled, and its parts will be removed from the shaft in preparation for the arrival of Houda, the second TBM, which has excavated approximately 4km of a total of 5.8km. It is expected to arrive in the autumn.

Webuild and NGE are developing 11km of the 29km long Line 16. They are also building four of the 10 stations to be located along the line: Aulnay-sous-Bois, Sevran-Beaudottes, Sevran-Livry and Clichy-Montfermeil.

Webuild is using fibre-reinforced concrete segments to line the walls of the tunnel, reducing the amount of steel needed by half.

The entire line will serve the Paris department of Seine-Saint-Denis, which includes 16 municipalities. The trains running the line are expected to transport an estimated 200,000 passengers every day.

The Grand Paris Express will extend the French capital's metro and light rail network by 200km with 68 stations to improve connections between the centre and the periphery.

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