The world’s first full-face hard-rock shaft tunnel boring machine (TBM) was successfully used in a construction site for an exhaust shaft of the pumped-storage power station in Ninghai, Zhejiang Province, on December 28. The successful use of the TBM, which was independently developed by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. under China Railway Hi-Tech Industry Co., Ltd., marked that Chinese TBM makers, represented by China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd., have solved global technical problems regarding full-face hard-rock TBM and can use the machine automatically in shafts.

　　China had been witnessing a void in the making and using of full-face hard-rock TBM, a type of high-end engineering equipment for mechanized and intelligent construction of shafts, for a long period of time. 

　　China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co., Ltd. has been dedicated itself to the research and development of shaft engineering equipment since 2011. In a course of 11 years, it successfully developed the world’s first full-face hard-rock TBM, code named “CREC 599.” The equipment integrated conventional shaft construction techniques and the idea of full-face hard-rock TBM. It is capable of building shafts in a safe and efficient manner, and is the first in the world to achieve dynamic subsidence and unmanned tunneling. The machine represents the world’s advanced level.