Metro Manila Subway Update: Kaunlaran TBM Cutter Head Arrived|Operability Dec. 2021

As Philippines is inching closer towards having its first subway system, The Department of Transportation (DOTr) unveiled on February 5, 2021 a part of a tunnel boring machine, the head cutter that is crucial to the construction of the Metro Manila subway.

The cutter head is the largest part of the tunnel boring machine, weighing 74 tons or as heavy as two Airbus A320 airplanes. Its main purpose is to break, cut and grind rocks and soil, with the power of 300 jackhammers by rotating its 36-piece disc cutter. The machine can dig up to 6 to 12 meters a day. Remaining parts of the said machine could arrive in the country in the coming days.
The Subway is planned to begin partial operations by December, by the end of the year. Worst case scenario is by January or February next year, per update by DOTR this month. It will serve 370,000 passengers daily in its first year. All stations will be fully operational by 2025, with a design capacity of 1.5 million passengers per day.

Video courtesy: Department of Transportation Philippines

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