More than 20 tunnel-boring machines have been put to work so far to build lines 15, 16, 17 and 18 as part of a Grand Paris Express metro expansion in the French capital. Among the latest, a 9.87-m-dia earth pressure balance tunnel-boring machine (TBM), is due to be launched this month by Italy-based Webuild S.p.A.
By the end of last month, Société du Grand Paris, responsible for oversight of Paris’ public transit network, had awarded more than $8 billion in civil engineering contracts on the four new lines. The agency is scheduled to add nearly 180 km to the Paris system by 2030.