Crossover machine launches in Turkey

A 13.77m diameter Robbins Crossover XRE TBM is launched recently in Turkey to excavate the 3km Eşme- Salihli rail link through mixed conditions, including sandstone, gravelstone, claystone, and siltstone. Contractor Kolin Construction expects some occasional groundwater and weak rock between 5 MPa to 9 MPa UCS, with the potential for a gassy environment.

To get through the challenging conditions, the large diameter Robbins XRE machine has a number of particular features. The large diameter design enables both a screw conveyor and a transition belt conveyor to remain in place, enabling swift conversion for operations in 100% closed EPBM and open hard rock excavation modes.

“This is anopportunity for Robbins to prove that large diameter TBMs can bore largediameter headings in complex geology and difficult ground conditions,” saidYunus Alpagut of ATES, the Robbins subsidiary in Turkey. "Recently there have been large diameter, non-Robbins machines that havefailed, including on the high-speed railway in Bilecik, so this project will demonstrate to the Turkish tunnelling industry that large diameter machines are up to the challenge.”

Robbins field service personnel with the assembled machine