Than digging underground

Moscow subway - is a real underground city. During the war here fleeing from the bombing today - from traffic jams. Virtually every one of Muscovites almost daily basis in the subway from half an hour or more. Have you ever thought how to build the subway and how much work is it?




The first subway line in the 30s, were laid by hand - pick and shovel.



So it can be safely Soviet Metrostroiteley rank as heroes. Their work is comparable to the construction of the Egyptian pyramids.



Metro building in two ways: open and closed. Both methods are relevant today. In the open method dig pit (pit), strengthen its concrete on all sides, making the top roof and covered it all back ground. In the resulting concrete corridor stack path. Since built, including the first station in Moscow.



In the closed method tunnels for ways to "gnaw" on the basis of the ship worm. This is done using a special "tunnel shield" without affecting the urban landscape without disturbing people movement. Invented by British engineer Brunel shield for tunneling under the Thames. A method of drilling, he peeped, in fact, in this worm, eat through wood.



Initially, the shields were non-motorized. The soil at the bottom selects operation manually. To advance forward shield used jackscrews. However, already in 1949 during the construction of the Circle Line in Moscow a few hundred meters of the tunnel in difficult places built mechanized shield. That is the hardest and dirtiest work finally took over the machinery. Principle is a powerful shield cutters break through the soil, which is fed to the conveyor, where it falls out into trucks and transported. According to this technology and build today.



The average speed of the shield - 250 - 300 m per month. It is worth such a contraption expensive - 13 - 15 million euros. If the board fails, then we have to dig a pit for repairs. So it was on Butovskaya line. But this happens very rarely. But looks like the control panel of one of the panels.



Incidentally, it is interesting that all boards have female names. Such a tradition started by the founder of the production of "worms" Richard Lovat. Now in Moscow working Claudius, Katyusha, Pauline, Olga, Alexander, Svetlana. Cute, is not it? One of the panels even starred in the Hollywood blockbuster "Total Recall" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.



Alexander "en face»:



Private method, of course, more expensive than open. Now most of the subway station build open pit and sophisticated space spans between them - closed. Even in 2011 by decree of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin underground development project was revised to an intelligent combination of the two methods of laying tracks. As a result, the price of construction decreased by 25%.



At the same time, the development plan for the subway doubled. By 2020, will be built 79 new stations and 160 km paved roads. That's "Alexandra" is ready to break the path to the new station "District».



By the way, the Moscow builders the first to use a shield for paving and escalator tunnels. To do this, the Canadian company Lovat was commissioned a unique shield with a diameter of 11 m.



But the escalators are not needed for all stations. For example, they do not have many stops Skytrain, whose construction costs even cheaper stations shallow emplacement. Skytrain (or light) - is when the train is at the level of the road. Sometimes referred to above ground, if the movement compositions constructed overpass. But it is clear that light rail is not suitable, for example, to the historical center of Moscow. However, Butov and other areas of new buildings is nothing better you can imagine. Cheap, fast and technologically.



But the subway line to the city Kotelniki proved profitable to build an open way. Station will open very soon - in 2014. There are still remains about 70 new stations. So metrostroevtsy and iron girlfriends Claudia, Katyusha, Pauline, Olga, Alexander, Svetlana is where their talents.

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