【Singapore News】THE “SUN WU” TBM OF C885 PROJECT OF CRTG HAS SUCCESSFULLY UNDERCROSSED NEARLY 100-YEAR-OLD HISTORICAL AND HERITAGE BUILDING

On September 1, Tunnel Boring Machine with given name Sun Wu, led by China Railway Tunnel Group had successfully undercrossed the 88-year-old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station for circle line 6 (CCL6) project.

Tanjong Pagar railway station

Tanjong Pagar railway station is the terminus of the Malaya Railway in Singapore. It was built in 1932 and its design was inspired by the Helsinki Railway Station in Finland. The facade of the railway station has four marble statues representing agriculture, commerce, transportation and industry.

On June 30, 2011, with the departure of the last train personally driven by the Sultan of Johor, Malaysia, the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which served the people back and forth between Singapore and Malaysia for 79 years, has officially ended its service. At 12 o’clock the next day, the railway station and its ancillary facilities were officially handed over to the Singapore Land Bureau by Malaya Railway Corporation. The authorities decided to convert it into a museum and open to the public in future.

Due to the long history of the railway station, the as-build drawings are incomplete. Undercrossing the 88-year-old Tanjong Pagar railway station is not an easy task; the ground settlement needs to be controlled within 11 mm to ensure interior decoration remain intact. This is a major challenges and critical point in the whole stretch of tunnel construction in this project.

The robotic real time monitoring system in railway station

CRTG Project Team, had worked closely with Singapore National Agency such as National Heritage Board (NHB), Building and Construction Authority (BCA), Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the consulting company, to determine protection scheme for the sculptures and decorations inside the station, as well as operation parameter of Tunnel Boring Machine. Besides this, comprehensive monitoring instrumentation had been installed at entire Railway Station and equipped with robotic real time monitoring. Throughout the undercrossing process, all monitoring data are well within the control range, and there is no damage to the decorations in the Railway Station.

It is reported that the 6th phase of the Circle Line has 4 kilometers and 3 underground stations. When completed, it will connect the current “gap” between two interchange stations i.e. Harbourfront Station and Marina Bay Station. Thus, closing the loop for CCL MRT line.

Protection for marble statues

Protection for interior decoration

Plan view of the station

The Contract C885 awarded to China Railway Tunnel Group undoubtedly is the most complex and the most challenging section for the entire line. The project includes the construction of Prince Edward Station, twin bored tunnel, Cut & Cover tunnel and related ancillary works.

The tunnel drive starts with outer bound, which located at bottom of stacked tunnel, by Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) “Sun Wu” driven from Prince Edward Road to Cantonment Station. Upon completion outer bound drive, TBM will be dismantled and re-assembled again in Prince Edward Station for the inner bound tunnel.

(Editor: CHUA CHOON PENG)