
Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) unveiled a digging shield machine with a diameter of 14 meters to be used in the construction of a tunnel for the linear Chuo Shinkansen line for the first time in Kobe on Wednesday.
The machine will be used to dig in an area known as "deep underground" in Japanese law which is an underground area deeper than 40 meters below ground. A 9.2-kilometer-long construction section will run from near Shinagawa Station in Minato Ward, Tokyo -- the starting station for the maglev service -- to Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki.
According to the firm, the machine will be able to tunnel 20 meters a day by rotating its disk upon which approximately 1,100 teeth are attached. The drilling work is expected to begin in early fiscal 2021.
The maglev Shinkansen line is expected to open between Shinagawa and Nagoya in 2027. The construction in the deep underground is also planned in Aichi Prefecture.
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