Installation of a Tunnel-Boring Machine Underway for New Baikal Tunnel Construction in Eastern Siberia

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The Lovat RM 394DS 10.2-meter diameter Tunnel-Boring Machine is being assembled at the western entry of a new Baikal tunnel. The tunnel is located in the Irkutsk Region, in the Delbichinda – Daban stage of the East-Siberian Railway.

When the machine is put in service, the driving of the new 6,682.05 – meter-long tunnel will start. A launch chamber for the tunnel-boring machine is being outfitted simultaneously with the machine assembly.

The new Baikal railway tunnel will have a single track and two drainage galleries on the west and east entry sides.

All state-of-the-art waterproofing methods will be used when the tunnel is built. More specifically, a special expanding rubber seal will be provided between the prefabricated lining blocks.

The tunnel construction is part of a project of Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Railway reconstruction. The tunnel is scheduled to be commissioned in 2017.

Sergej Berdnikov / SK MOST

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