On June 18, 2020, China exported Australia's large-diameter 11.09-meter hard rock TBM (China Railway No. 783) to be rolled out at the China Railway Equipment National TBM Industrialization Center. The equipment will be used for the construction of the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project in Australia. This is the largest diameter hard rock TBM exported by China, and it is also the first time that a Chinese hard rock boring machine has been used in the construction of an Australian tunnel project.

The Snowy Hydro 2.0 project, also known as the "Snow Mountain 2.0 Hydropower Project", is an inter-regional water diversion project in Australia's Snow Mountains. It is one of the largest trans-basin and trans-regional diversion projects in the world. Its main purpose is to transfer water from eastern Australia to arid regions in the west. , While irrigating and generating electricity.

The tunnel excavation diameter of this project is 11.09 meters, the maximum burial depth is 723 meters, the horizontal turning radius is 500 meters, the lithology is siltstone and sandstone, and the strength is 15-160 MPa. With a good international reputation and excellent design capabilities, China Railway Equipment has become the supplier of TBM equipment for this project and is currently the only Chinese TBM supplier successfully entering the Australian market.

The "China Railway No. 783" TBM is about 137 meters long and weighs about 2,300 tons. In view of the engineering characteristics of the Xueshan project, such as large diameter, large burial depth, high rock strength, soft rock breakage, and downhill excavation, China Railway Equipment adopted heavy-duty hard rock cutter heads and two normalized advanced drilling rigs in the main engine area. , Shield body anti-twist device, anti-slope drainage system and other targeted designs, with rapid and advanced treatment of bad geological capabilities. At the same time, the whole machine is designed according to CE standards and Australian standards in terms of safety protection, escape channels, fluids, electrical and hydraulic systems. Editor/Peng Xue