TBM ready to start work on Line 4

Engineers of the AVAX-led consortium building Athens' new 13-kilometer metro line stand next to a tunnel boring machine (TBM) cutter head at the Katehaki site. Following consultations with local engineers, German tunneling company Herrenknecht supplied two approximately 100-meter long and 1,500-ton TBMs with a diameter of 9.5 meters. The equipment, which is equipped with sonar technology to inspect geology and structural integrity, can dig up to 30 meters per day. It is expected to start work this month and is scheduled to reach Evangelismos in two years. The second TBM is expected at the Veikou site this summer. [Nikos Kokkalias]