TBM Launches on Zambia’s Chambishi Copper Mine
China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Corp. (CRCHI) has launched the first Chinese‑built mining tunnel boring machine (TBM) on Africa, deploying it at Zambia’s Chambishi Copper Mine. The 5.63‑metre diameter, 800‑ton machine will bore a 9.7‑km tunnel through hard rock and high‑temperature conditions. By moving away from traditional drill‑and‑blast, the TBM enables simultaneous excavation and lining, delivering a smoother tunnel profile. The project underpins Africa’s inaugural digital mining venture, targeting 3.3 Mt annual throughput and roughly 60,000 t of copper per year.
Montreal Blue Line Extension TBM Launches
The 9.7‑meter diameter Herrenknecht TBM named “Lisette” has been launched to bore a 4.6‑km twin‑bore tunnel between the future Vertières and Anjou stations on Montreal’s Blue Line extension. The Mobilité Bleu Horizon consortium—led by Pomerleau, EBC and Spie Batignolles—expects the machine...
TBM “Kathrin” Starts Excavation of Gardena Tunnel
Excavation of the Gardena Tunnel, a critical segment of the new Brenner rail axis linking Munich and Verona, has begun using the 144‑metre TBM "Kathrin." The machine will bore twin tubes and interconnection tunnels for the future Ponte Gardena station...
Strabag Awarded Pfaffensteig Tunnel Contract
STRABAG and its group company ZÜBLIN have secured the contract to build the Pfaffensteig Tunnel, an 11 km twin‑bore link that will connect Stuttgart Airport directly to the Gäubahn line and shorten travel to the Swiss border. The award from DB...
Construction Complete on Italy’s Rocchetta Tunnel
Webuild has finished excavating the 6.5 km Rocchetta Tunnel on the Apice‑Hirpinia stretch of Italy’s Naples‑Bari high‑speed railway, a pivotal segment of the TEN‑T Scandinavian‑Mediterranean Corridor. The 12 m‑diameter TBM “Futura” completed the drive in 18 months, installing over 32,500 precast concrete...
Breakthrough Achieved on Gotthard Second Tube Northern Section
Alessandra, a 12.2‑meter single‑shield TBM built by Herrenknecht, achieved a breakthrough on the northern section of the Gotthard Road Tunnel’s second tube on 29 April 2026. The machine had already excavated roughly 3.8 km through hard Alpine geology, linking up with a pre‑excavated...
Last Sydney Metro TBM Recovered
Sydney Metro West’s final two 7‑metre Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines, Jessie and Ruby, are being recovered from the Hunter Street Station cavern beneath the CBD. The 1,100‑tonne machines are being lifted in 16 sections, each requiring a 68‑wheeler truck to...
TERRATEC EPBM Selected for Final Drive on Palermo Rail Ring
TERRATEC has been chosen to supply an 8.18‑meter EPBM for the final 817‑meter stretch of Palermo’s underground ring railway (Lotto II). The machine features a 1,320 kW cutterhead and a specialized articulation system that can negotiate a 180‑meter radius curve, one of...
Novi Ligure Rail Link Tunnels Completed with Final Breakthrough
Excavation of the Novi Ligure rail interconnection tunnels is now complete, linking the new high‑capacity Genoa‑Milan line with the historic Genoa‑Turin route. The twin single‑track tunnels span 1.7 km and were built just metres beneath an active railway, using real‑time monitoring...
HS2’s Northolt Tunnel Cross Passages Complete
The Skanska‑Costain‑STRABAG joint venture has finished constructing all 34 cross passages in HS2’s Northolt Tunnel, a 13.44 km stretch in west London. The twin‑bore tunnel, excavated to depths of 35 m, now moves to installing reinforced concrete collars and fire‑rated doors. Structural...
First Speakers Announced for BTS 2026 Conference
The BTS 2026 Conference in London announced its first wave of speakers, featuring HS2 Construction Delivery Director Alan Morris and i3P’s Joshua Thomas as keynote presenters. Topics will span competence frameworks, large‑scale underground testing, fibre‑optic monitoring from the Brenner Base...
TBMs Launch on Ontario Line Downtown Drive in Toronto
Two tunnel boring machines, Libby and Corkie, have begun a 6‑kilometre twin‑bore drive beneath downtown Toronto for the Ontario Line, the first new subway tunnelling in the city centre in more than six decades. The machines will carve tunnels at...
Latest Tunneling Innovations on Display at NAT 2026
The 2026 North American Tunneling Conference (NAT 2026) will run June 15‑18 in Anaheim, California, bringing together more than 1,200 attendees and 165 exhibitors. Hosted by the Underground Construction Association, the event features over 100 technical presentations, specialty speakers from...
First Cutterhead Rotation on Potomac River Tunnel
DC Water has launched its first tunnel boring machine, Mary, to begin excavating the Potomac River Tunnel, a key component of the $819 million Clean Rivers Program. The slurry TBM, equipped with a 6.4 m diameter cutterhead, will drive northward from West...
Caterina Tunnel Breakthrough on Calabria HSR Lot 1A
Excavation of the Caterina Tunnel, a little over 1 km long, has been completed on Lot 1A of the Salerno‑Reggio Calabria high‑speed railway in southern Italy. The tunnel was bored using the 1,200‑ton TBM Mireille, equipped with a cutterhead larger than 10 m,...