The construction site of Metro Line 18 will be opened simultaneously with the new airport if it is not closed.

　　This subway bound for Chengdu Tianfu International Airport will be opened and operated simultaneously with the new airport in 2020-

　　On February 1st, the fifth day of the first lunar month, the traffic on Tianfu Avenue in Chengdu was much less than usual. At 10: 00 a.m., a 650-ton crawler crane was working at the construction site of Haichang Road Station of Chengdu Metro Line 18, making a huge noise. Outside the enclosure of the construction site, it is the main gate of Haichang Polar Ocean World, and many citizens come to play with their children.

　　Inside the enclosure, the urgent atmosphere of construction enveloped, and subway builders continued to fight, giving up reunion with their families this Spring Festival.

　　Grab the progress: "two shifts" assembling shield machine

　　All the lines under construction in Chengdu Metro have resumed work.

　　In the cab, Zhou Feng was absorbed in the operation of the crane, and safely delivered a part in front to the "patio" on the right. Underground, a shield machine about three stories high has been assembled for most of it.

　　On the open space in front of the crane, there are several parts covered with blue cloth, each of which is huge. The shield machine of Line 18 is the "Big Mac" in the shield machine. The cutter head diameter is 8.6 meters, which is 1.5 times that of the common shield machine. The length of the whole machine is about 110 meters and the total weight is about 950 tons.

　　This is the first shield machine of Line 18, which went down on December 30, 2016 and is scheduled to be assembled in mid-February this year. During the Spring Festival, it coincided with the critical period of shield machine assembly. In order to catch up with the construction progress, Zhou Feng and his workmates did not rest and fought for days. More than 40 people worked in two shifts and circled around the shield machine.

　　Zhou Feng told reporters that these parts range from a few tons to nearly 100 tons, so we should slow down the lifting and landing, and we must concentrate on them. On New Year’s Eve (January 27), he was busy until 5 pm before he was free to talk to his family in Guanghan. It is gratifying that the assembly is about to be finished. "Now the head is assembled, and then the cutter head."

　　It’s not just Line 18 that is racing against time. "During the Spring Festival, there was no rest at the important stations of subway construction." Liu Wei, deputy general manager of Chengdu Metro Company, said that Line 18 is a subway bound for the new airport. In order to catch up with the new airport in 2020, more than 400 people gave up their rest and fought in the front line. On the fourth day of the first lunar month (January 31st), all the lines under construction in Chengdu Metro resumed work. This year, the subway projects under construction will reach 400 kilometers.

　　Seeking construction: building Line 18 in the mode of "full-caliber PPP"

　　Explore the road with new mode for more lines.

　　On the construction site, Ren Guoqing, deputy general manager of China Dianjian Chengdu Construction Investment Company, wore a red helmet and patrolled key positions. In a short time, Peng Baofu, deputy director of the PPP Project Management Center of Chengdu Metro Company, rushed to discuss the construction.

　　Line 18 will be built in a brand-new mode-PPP (government and social capital cooperation). After public bidding, China Power Construction Co., Ltd. won the bid and will jointly invest with Chengdu Metro Company to set up a new project company to invest in the construction and operation management of Line 18.

　　"Line 18 has created many national firsts." Peng Baofu introduced that it is designed to run at a speed of 140 kilometers per hour and is the fastest subway line in China. It is also the first subway line in China that passes through a high gas tunnel; It will be the first time in the country to run in a "fast and slow train set" mode. The express line only stops at big stations and can run the whole course in more than 30 minutes; It is the first in the country to adopt the "full-caliber PPP" model for construction, that is, all construction projects are handed over to franchisees, and the franchise period includes four-year construction period and 22-year operation period.

　　It is about 66 kilometers long, with 12 stations and an investment of about 35 billion yuan. As a subway line that goes directly to the new airport, the construction of Line 18 is difficult and time is tight. The introduction of social investment by PPP can reduce the financial pressure of local governments and enable the project to be launched quickly. In the next planning, Line 18 will extend northwards to the North Railway Station to "reduce the burden" on the congested Line 1, and will also extend to Ziyang, connecting Chengdu with the surrounding cities more closely.

　　Pointing to the network map of Chengdu rail transit planning line hanging on the construction site, Peng Baofu said that Chengdu Metro has planned 2,400 kilometers in the future, and the fourth round of subway planning is currently underway. By 2022, Chengdu Metro lines (including trams) are expected to reach 900 kilometers, and the required construction funds are more than 600 billion yuan. "We hope to build Line 18 into a benchmark and explore the road with PPP mode for more lines."

　　Pull industry: the tailor-made shield machine is "made in Sichuan"

　　Half of the products are locally matched this year.

　　"There’s a spare part missing here. I’ll bring it back to the factory tomorrow. Today, everyone will try to block it and prevent it from entering the dust. " Next to the huge shield machine parts on the construction site, David, with white skin and yellow hair, pointed to the drawings and said that the translators on the side listened carefully and explained to several Chinese engineers around him.

　　As the only foreigner on the construction site, David stood out in the crowd. He is a shield machine engineer from Herrick Company, a world-famous shield machine manufacturer, whose duty is to provide supervision and consultation for the assembly and debugging of shield machines. On January 18th, David arrived in Chengdu on a direct flight from Frankfurt, Germany, and immediately went to work.

　　Although David is from overseas, the shield machine is made in Sichuan. The running speed of Line 18 is fast, and the vehicle swings greatly during running. Considering the construction of power supply system and turning radius, the tunnel excavation section is enlarged, and the shield machine is specially customized. Herrick Company is located in Herrick (Chengdu) Tunnel Equipment Co., Ltd., Longquanyi District, Chengdu, and has made a special shield machine for Line 18.

　　Bai Hao, general manager of Herrick (Chengdu) Tunnel Equipment Co., Ltd. said that more than 40% of the shield machine has achieved localized production, and only some parts have been airlifted from the German headquarters. The shield body and cutter head are all made in Chengdu.

　　Next, there will be 15 shield machines going down the well one after another, which will be a witness to the effect of subway construction and operation on the high-end rail transit industry. Liu Wei introduced that with the construction and operation of subway network, localized production will also be realized in construction equipment, vehicles and power supply. By the end of 2017, the main business of Chengdu’s rail transit industry will strive to reach 100 billion yuan, and the supporting rate of local products will reach more than 50%. (Reporter Chen Lan Fan Ying Wang Meiling Wang Yuxi Zhu Xueli/Wen He Haiyang/Figure)