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Hong Kongs high

speed rail link
to Mainland China

Article by: george demetri

As first published in
world tunneling, Jan/feb 2013

200 | Sandvik Year 2012 in Action

Sandvik DT1230i and DT1330i in

operation at XRL 822 project.

Hong Kongs improving transport links with mainland China

include the XRL high speed rail tunnels currently under
construction. George Demetri visited the longest drill and
blast section underway in Hong Kong.

he Hong Kong section of the

Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong
Express Rail Link (Express Rail
Link, XRL) is a high speed line that will
link Hong Kong to Panyu, Guangzhou and
Guangdong in the north. In reinforcing
social and economic ties between the two
regions, the project is of vital importance
to Hong Kong and will strengthen its
status as the southern gateway to China.
With operating speeds of around
200km/hr along the Hong Kong section
(and up to 350 km/hr on the overland section further north), the travel time between
Hong Kong and Futian at the Shenzhen
boundary will be around 14 minutes,
and 48 minutes to Guangzhou South.
Currently under construction, the US$8
billion Hong Kong section will comprise
26km of tunnel and a terminus station in
West Kowloon and will connect to a 116
km northern section including four intermediate stations which commenced in 2009
ahead of the Hong Kong section. With the
West Kowloon terminus, there will be no

intermediate stations in the HKSAR.

Completion is scheduled for 2015.
History
In 2000, the government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
proposed a Regional Express Line as envisaged in its Railway Development Strategy;
this later became the Hong Kong section
of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong
Express Rail Link (Express Rail Link).
In April 2008, Hong Kongs MTR Corporation Limited (MTR) was commissioned by
the HKSAR government to carry out further

With operating speeds of around

200 km/h along the Hong Kong
section and up to 350 km/h on the
overland section further North the
travel time between Hong Kong and
Futian at the Shenzhen boundary will be
around 14 minutes, and 48 minutes to
Guangzhou South.

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HON G KON G

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planning and design of the XRL project; the

project was later put out for public consultation. In October 2009, the scheme and
its amendments were authorised, funding
approved by the Finance Committee of the
Legislative Council in January 2010, and
construction begun later that month.
Alignment
In determining the route of the tunnel
alignment, MTR has taken numerous
factors into account, including techni-

Kim Bailey, Plant Manager with Leighton Contractors

(Asia) Limited at XRL 822 project

202 | Sandvik Year 2012 in Action

cal, geotechnical, operational and safety

aspects, land requirements, effects on the
community and environment, and the overriding programme constraints to connect
with the northern section.
The major consideration in the urban area
of Hong Kong, particularly around the
West Kowloon terminus, was to minimise
construction and operational impacts on
the local community and infrastructure,
particularly road capacity for deliveries and

The project also includes eight emergency

access points (of which seven are also ventilation buildings), stabling sidings for trains
and an emergency rescue facility at Shek
Kong in the rural section. The at-grade
sidings, located around half way along the
alignment, provide the primary emergency
access point for effective response to incidents inside the tunnels.
Background
MTR has packaged the construction contracts primarily in consideration of geology, tunnel profile, length and accessibility.
Among the major civil contracts for tunnels, three contracts are being constructed
by drill and blast, three by tunnel boring
machines (TBM), and one by a combination of TBM and cut and cover
excavation.

the civil works contract, Leighton will hand

over to other contractors to carry out the
fit-out and track work.
Profiles
The project provides a twin track, drained,
lined tunnel with a central dividing wall for
the majority of its length with a pair of single track tunnels required at the northern
limit. A number of different cross sections
are required to satisfy operational requirements.
The main running tunnel has a 130m2
cross-section (Type C profile, green) (8.5m
x 14.2m-wide) bisected by a 354mm-thick
central reinforced concrete dividing wall.
However, the tunnel section increases to
180m2 (Type M profile) in the vicinity of
the two ventilation building to accommodate Leightons alternative ventilation
proposal. In order to achieve a full face
blast on a face up to 17m high and almost
19m wide, Leighton is using two modified
Sandvik three boom DT1330i tunnelling
jumbos.

The section being constructed by

Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited
(Leighton) is the longest single drill
and blast section, comprising 7.6km
of excavation extending from Tse Uk
Tsuen to Shek Yam (contract 822).
Leighton was awarded the US$434
million contract in March 2010 and
expects to achieve breakthrough in late
2013, with completion of the lining
scheduled for 2014. Having completed

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disposal of excavated material. In urban

West Kowloon, the alignment runs beneath
two major roads (Sham Mong Road and
Hoi Wang Road) in reclaimed land.
Continuing northwards, the alignment
passes under the Tai Mo Shan mountain
range into the New Territories, Hong
Kongs rural hinterland area, before finally
crossing the estuarine marshland of Mai
Po, that forms the HKSAR boundary.

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The project provides a twin track,

drained, lined tunnel with a central
dividing wall for the majority of its
length with a pair of single track tunnels
required at the northern limit. A number
of different cross sections are required to
satisfy operational requirements.

Ventilation
The MTRs conforming design proposal
included two separate ventilation tunnels
alongside the main running tunnel with
adit connections to the main tunnel at the
required intervals. As part of Leightons
alternative proposal, the separate ventilation tunnels were eliminated by incorporating the ventilation requirements into an
enlarged running tunnel with an integral
overhead ventilation plenum (OHVD)
(Diagram xxx).
Two permanent ventilation adits are located at a separation of 6.5km. The southern
adit is a vertical shaft some 90m deep and
therefore not suitable for the main tunnel
construction access. A temporary construction adit (to be back-filled on completion of
the project) was therefore specified close to
the southern contract limit to provide two
excavation faces in order to meet the challenging construction programme.
Temporary ventilation to the face is provided by twin 500kW fans located at the
surface with fresh air delivered at a rate of
up to 200m3/s through twin 2.6m diameter ventilation ducts. Mitigating the noise
impacts of these fans has been another
challenge.

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Geology
The project was tendered on a Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR) prepared by
MTR that confirmed existing knowledge
and MTRs experience on the West Rail
DB350 tunnelling contract. With the exception of some soft ground at the northern,
Pat Heung portal the excavation is predominantly in competent rock including
Granodiorite and tuff, with some granite
material. Some difficult ground conditions
have been encountered in completely decomposed granite (CDG) that has required
mechanical excavation at the face. In such
zones, Leighton has resorted to sequential excavation and support. Heading and
bench or two pilot drives either side of a
centre column were adopted in particularly
challenging ground conditions.
Regular probe drilling is being undertaken
as specified to provide a better understanding of the geology immediately ahead of
the face and to date no significant water
problems have been encountered.
Lining
In good competent rock, the majority of
the lining is predicted to be unreinforced,
although reinforcement is used in the centre
dividing wall on which work will start in
2013. Shotcrete (50mm thick) is used for
temporary support of the excavated profile
and is either plain, or steel fibre-reinforced.
Polypropylene fibres are added in all linings
at a rate of 1kg/m3 of concrete to increase
resistance against spalling in the event of
a fire. The concrete is then cast to 350mm
thickness between a PVC sheet waterproofing membrane and formwork; the thickness
varies at junctions, the lining can be up
to a 1m-thick unreinforced lining in good
competent rock.

Excavated rock will be processed through

a screening plant to provide the drainage
material under the tunnel base slab. This
avoids having to re-import material to comply with the drainage layer requirements,
and it also reduces the environmental impacts of having to dispose of the excavated
material off site.

Current status
At the time of the authors visit to the site
in mid-September 2012, Leighton was
drilling and blasting two faces simultaneously, having excavated around 1,500m
from the south and 600m from the north. A
third work site for the 90m deep shaft was
also nearing completion of the first phase,
a 30m deep basement located above the
shaft.
Tunnel works also included the installation
of a waterproofing membrane and permanent tunnel lining. Tunnelling continues
24/7 with day and night shifts, employing
around 250 people/shift.

FACTS
Sandvik DX700
Hole diameter 76-115mm
(3-4 1/2)
Rock tools

45 or 51mm
(1 3/4 or 2)

Rock drill

HL710,
19,5kW

Engine

TIER 3:
Caterpillar C
7, 168 kW/2
200 rpm
TIER 4:
Caterpillar C
7.1, 168 kW/1
800 rpm

Flushing air

8,1m3/min,
up to 10bar

23m3/min
Dust collector at 1000 mm
vacuum H2O
Width

TIER 3: 2.5m
TIER 4: 2.45m

Length

7.2m / 10.7m

Height

3.6m / 3.2m

Weight

TIER 3: 14
800kg
TIER 4: 14
900kg

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The permanent concrete lining is cast in 12m

bays, with four bays cast each week. Once
the main lining has been installed, Leighton
will pour the 350mm-thick invert plus filter
drains, then pour the base slab for the rail
track. The civil works also include the service/evacuation walkways on either side.

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Leighton is using Sandviks iSURE

software to manage the two 3-boom
jumbos working simultaneously on the
large faces. The software takes the
blasting parameters and tunnel size and
creates an array of holes, maintaining
the same cut pattern and allowing rings
to be added, thereby achieving a pattern
very quickly.

Blasting
In order to meet the demand for explosives
the project also included the construction
of two explosives magazines to be supplied
from the government magazines. Whilst
Leighton retains overall management and
operational control of the two magazines
the facilities are shared by the other XRL
drill and blast contractors; XRL Contract
821 share So Kwun Wat magazine and
XRL Contract 824 the magazine at
Tai Shu Ha (Yuen Long).

Kim Bailey and John Owens, Leightons

Superintendent at XRL 822
project discussing with Sandvik Hong
Kongs sales manager Kenny Chen.

206 | Sandvik Year 2012 in Action

Leighton is the first contractor in Hong

Kong to bring in GPS tracking systems for
the explosives delivery vehicles to eliminate
the requirement for armed escorts.
On XRL, Leighton is using standard bulk
emulsions with high strength detonator
cords. Other than that, initiation systems
are typical MSLP non-electric (NONEL)
delays. It has also used dual-delay systems
(with two detonators) which are not
typical in civil tunnelling.
Use of bulk emulsion has the added advantage in that it does not become an explosive
until sensitised by nitrogen gas. At the end
of the day unused quantities of un-gassed
bulk emulsion do not need to be returned
to the magazine or destroyed on site as required for packaged emulsions (cartridges).
Managing ground vibrations and air blast
the airborne shock waves resulting from
the detonation of explosives was an issue
in blast design in the early stages of the
project but is less of a consideration as
the tunnel advances beneath Tai Mo Shan.
The large tunnel faces introduced additional technical challenges to the traditional
adoption of MSLP connection methods
resulting in some pioneering work with
dual delay systems.

Another first for the project has been Hong

Kongs first-ever tunnel deck blast a
blasting method where instead of a continuous hole loaded with bulk explosives,
the charges are segregated in the hole by
crushed aggregate and fired independently
on separate delays. In this way, charge
weight restrictions are not exceeded, but
because the charges go off milliseconds
apart, they do not generate vibrational
sequences, yet still allow the full 6 m advance. Vibrations can therefore be managed
in accordance with project requirements
while still maintaining programme rates.
The 22-hour blasting cycle was adjusted
to allow two blasts per day to be achieved
within the window provided by the projects Environmental Permit.
In order to minimise the size of the temporary construction adit, and for optimum
production a Sandvik underground rock
breaker and crusher were installed in a dedicated underground cavern at the bottom of
the adit (which will also require back-filling
on completion), and the excavated material
brought to a surface stockpile on a conveyor.
iSURE
Leighton is using Sandviks iSURE software
to manage the two 3-boom jumbos working simultaneously on the large faces. The
software takes the blasting parameters and
tunnel size and creates an array of holes,
maintaining the same cut pattern and allowing rings to be added, thereby achieving
a pattern very quickly. Specific additional
holes can be manually added later. Typically, holes are spaced around 0.7m apart.
Most hole patterns seen on the project are
generally constant for a given tunnel profile
with a maximum of 160 holes being used
on the M-profile

FACTS
Sandvik DT1331i
Coverage

20 - 232m2

Hole diameter 43 - 64mm

Hole length

3 344 6 085 mm

Booms

3 x SB100i

Feed

3 x TF5i
12-21 ft

Rock drill

3 x RD525

Control and
operation
system

iDATA

Length (with
default feed)

17 780mm

Width
Drilling/
Tramming/
Transportation

3 860 / 3 050
/ 3 050mm

Height Drilling
/ Tramming

5 965 /
4 965mm

Weight
000 /
Standard / with 50
54 000kg
utility boom
Sandvik DT1231i
Coverage

20 - 211m2

Hole diameter 43 - 64mm

Hole length

3 344 6 085mm

Booms

2 x SB150i

Feed

3 x TF5i
12-21ft

Rock drill

3 x RD525

Control and
operation
system

iDATA

Length (with
default feed)

17 780mm

Width Drilling/
Tramming/
Transportation

3 860 / 3 050
/ 3 050mm

Height Drilling
/ Tramming

4 780 /
3 780mm

Weight
500 /
Standard / with 45
49 500kg
utility boom

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Hong Kongs Mines Division (Mines) of

the Civil Engineering and Development
Department is responsible for the governance of explosives material in Hong Kong.
With substantial demand being placed on
their staffing resources Blasting Competent
Supervisors were appointed from MTR
staff to help manage their responsibilities
to ensure compliance with licences and
permits.

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Leighton uses separate software for blast

analysis, detonation sequences and the allocation and analysis of the firing sequence of
a round, as well as displaying other information required for blasting approval.
From a technical standpoint blast holes of
up to 64mm could be used on faces of this
size, however 48mm- or 51mm-diameter
holes are being used to better manage the
drilling around the perimeter. Holes at the
perimeter are closer together and lightly
charged to ensure that the blast conforms
to the required line of the tunnel profile
with minimal over or underbreak.
Holes drilled across the bottom are designed to break out the floor to create the
next section of grade, so are spaced differ-

ently to the closer-spaced and more highly

charged holes where the blast starts.
Equipment
Sandvik equipment forms a key element of
Leightons inventory used to excavate the
tunnel. For the project, Sandvik has supplied:
2 x DT1330i 3-boom jumbo drill rigs
3 x DT1230i 3-boom jumbo drill rigs
2 x DT820-SC 2-boom jumbo drill rigs
1 x DX700R Crawler Drill rig
1 x Ranger 700 Crawler drill rig
2 x rock breakers
1 x UJ540 mobile crusher
1 x QA140 mobile screen
Rock tools and bit grinding services
Agreements for the supply of spare
parts and on-site services.
In addition, there are 12 technicians supported by Sandvik across the three sites.
The Sandvik drill rigs were chosen not
only for their reach and automation, but
also for their computerised sophistication
which among other things, helps minimise
the time and cost problems of under and
overbreak. However, such sophisticated
equipment requires competent drillers with
several years of experience in addition to
specific Sandvik training to become familiar
with the equipment and software.

The Sandvik drill rigs were chosen not

only for their reach and automation,
but also for their computerised
sophistication which among other
things, helps minimise the time and cost
problems of under and overbreak.

208 | Sandvik Year 2012 in Action

The demands of a project of this size

requires significant power supply. At Shek
Yam, at the southern limit of the project
a dedicated (2MVA) substation has been
constructed to meet the project requirements for the jumbos (drilling), Charmecs
(load/charge), shutter lining, shotcrete and
pumps. In Pat Heung, at the northern limit
of the project power was initially provided

A 700kVA mining substation follows the

tunnel advance and is moved every 200m
to service the tunnel advance. Intermediate
substations are being established on the
tunnel wall at approximately 1km intervals
to meet lighting and general power requirements.

all stages of the drill and blast excavation

cycle and the clear transfer of responsibility
from one team to the next at each consecutive stage. This is being achieved through
the adoption of a release note system and
pre-shift briefings, whereby any comments
or remarks raised by the previous shift are
noted on the release note and communicated to the follow-on shift. Clear communication is the most important safety tool on a
construction site.

Safety
Safety is of paramount importance on all
Leighton and MTR projects. The adoption
of leading technology to achieve the project
objectives requires skilled operatives at

The tunnel environment is defined as a

confined space in that it is enclosed with
restricted points of entry/exit, it is at risk of
restricted or poor ventilation and has the
possibility of insufficient oxygen

Sandvik DT821-SC
Coverage

110m2

Hole diameter 43 - 64mm

Hole length

Up to
6 180mm

Booms

TB90

Feed

TF500
16ft

Rock drill

RD520

Control
system

THC561

Length (with
default feed)

14 930mm

Width Drilling/
Tramming/
Transportation

3 000 / 3 000
/ 2 500mm

Weight
000 /
Standard / with 27
29 400kg
utility boom

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from banks of generators until such time

as 3 km of HV cable could be brought in
across adjoining contracts.

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and/or harmful gases. The ambient conditions of high temperature, high humidity
and lack of natural light are further hazards,
in addition to the pre-existing conditions
that define it as a confined space. A detailed
risk assessment report has therefore been
prepared that identifies all the hazards and
proposes a raft of measures both procedural
and engineering measures to reduce the risks
to as low as reasonably practicable.
Prior to breakthrough of the tunnel the exit
route from the tunnel could be in excess
of 4km. Therefore the ability to clearly
identify the location of an emergency, the
ability to manage it, and ensure safe evacuation are issues that have been addressed in
liaison with the Hong Kong Fire Services
Department (FSD) who will lead any emergency rescue should it prove necessary.
Communications, ventilation and emergency lighting are key provisions. Fire prevention equipment and emergency communications are provided in the tunnel. Audio
and visual alarms are connected to the tally
room/Emergency Control Centre at the surface. These regular stations, situated every
60m also include a fire hydrant with 30m
of hose connected to a fire main running the
length of the tunnel, and fire extinguishers
at each location. First aid kits are maintained every 100m within the tunnel.
In order to facilitate evacuation and rescue
procedures chainage markers are located
every 50m along the tunnel wall to enable
accurate location of any incident. Segregated walkways are provided for regular and
emergency access/egress and are advised to
workers in the tally room before they enter
the tunnel on each shift. Emergency lighting
is provided in accordance with the specification.

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Self-rescuers are made available to all

tunnel workers. These are once-only use
equipment that provide half an hour of
respirable air, sufficient for evacuation in
the event of ventilation failure and/or the
presence of harmful gases. Sufficient selfrescuers are kept in storage boxes at all
major work faces, and vehicles entering the
tunnel will have adequate self-rescuers for
the driver and all passengers. Occasional
workers and visitors will be required to
take a self-rescuer from the tally hut and
carry it with them whilst underground and
return it to the tally hut on exit.
The project site office is in regular contact
with the regional fire stations keeping them
appraised of tunnelling progress through
regular monthly visits and a drawing showing the tunnel status and any other point of
interest.
Going forward liaison with adjacent civil
contractors to monitor programme and
confirm responsibilities at the project
interfaces is ongoing. Discussions have commenced with the MTR Corporations designated contractors providing the permanent
way, and project wide systems, the first of
which the Construction Stage Mobile Phone
Network will commence in June 2013 with
the others due to commence in December
2013, when excavation has been completed.
For their assistance in the preparation of this article,
World Tunnelling would like to thank at Leighton
Asia: Francis Haden, Peter Ayres, Kim Bailey,
Darren Grant and John Owers, and for his assistance on site in Hong Kong, Kenny Chen, Sandvik.
Also thanks to Chan Hon To, Sandvik managing
director, Hong Kong, and Nina Lehtonen, Sandvik,
for facilitating the trip.

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In order to minimise the size of the temporary

construction adit, and for optimum production a
Sandvik underground rock breaker and crusher were
installed in a dedicated underground cavern at the
bottom of the adit, and the excavated material brought
to a surface stockpile on a conveyor.

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