Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 27, China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG) has delivered a large-diameter tunnel boring machine (TBM) named "Big Armadillo" for Line 2 of the São Paulo Metro in Brazil. The machine is designed for both Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) and open hard-rock modes, with maximum daily advance rates of 15 metres in soil and 10 metres in rock.

The second TBM for São Paulo Metro's Line 2-Green expansion is expected to be launched in the first half of next year

With an excavation diameter of 11.67 metres, a total length of 133 metres and a weight of 2,600 tons, "Big Armadillo" ranks among the largest TBMs ever deployed for metro construction in Brazil. It will bore a 7-kilometre tunnel section between Penha Station and Dutra, on the border with Guarulhos.

The TBM is scheduled to be shipped to Brazil later this year, with assembly and the start of tunnelling planned for the first half of next year.

On the same project, another CREG-supplied TBM named "Cora Coralina" has already completed the initial phase, excavating the segment between the Rapadura Complex and VSE Falchi Gianini. In September, its cutterhead was lowered into the shaft at Penha Station to begin the second phase, driving from Penha back toward the Rapadura Complex.

The deployment of these advanced machines supports efficient and safe underground construction for São Paulo Metro Line 2, contributing to expanded public transportation capacity in one of Brazil's most densely populated regions.