OREANDA-NEWS. April 09, 2012. Test driving of the Interstation Tunnel between Moscow Subway Lermontovsky Prospekt and Zhulebino Stations has been started on Taganskaya-Krasnopresnenskaya Line.

Lovat RME-242SE Tunnel Boring Machine named "Olga" will be used for shield tunneling. The 330-ton tunnel boring machine with the cutting diameter of 6.164 meter, which is 85-meters long, will drive the left hand side tunnel that is 1700-meters long. The tunneling speed will be 280 meters per month.

The tunnel boring machine was assembled in a launch pit at Zhulebino Subway Station construction site from March 1 through March 23 after it had been delivered from Krasnoyarsk. The launch of Lovat Tunnel Boring Machine signified the start of the shield driving of Moscow subway tunnels in Vykhino - Kotelniki section that is under construction. This is the first one out of four tunnel boring machines that will be used in this section.