VTA board approves purchase of machine to bore BART line | News

by Tony Hicks / Bay City News Service

Uploaded: Tue, Nov 7, 2023, 9:54 am 8 Time to read: about 1 minutes Cylinder Liner Locations

VTA board approves purchase of machine to bore BART line | News | Mountain View Online |

A BART train arrives at the Pleasant Hill BART station in Walnut Creek, Calif. on Monday, February 1, 2021. (Ray Saint Germain/Bay City News Foundation)

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority said Monday it authorized the purchase of the transit tunnel boring machine to complete the five-mile underground section of the VTA BART Silicon Valley extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara.

The transit authority said in a statement that it ordered the $76 million custom-built tunnel boring machine from Herrenknecht, a company specializing in customized tunneling equipment for projects around the world.

The state-of-the-art boring machine will dig the largest single-bore transit tunnel in the world, nearly 54 feet in diameter. It's capable of digging 30 to 40 feet a day, according to VTA.

"There's no turning back now," said San Jose Mayor and VTA Board Member Matt Mahan, in a statement released Monday. "This purchase cements our commitment to connecting the entire Bay via rail. When complete, BART to Silicon Valley will unlock tremendous transit capacity and economic growth for our region."

The machine will be designed to operate in areas with high water tables, and the geology of sands, gravels, silts, and clays prevalent in the South Bay.

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VTA said there were extensive geotechnical investigations through comprehensive boring samples along the route that will connect the downtown San Jose Diridon Station and Santa Clara with the newly opened BART Berryessa station in North San Jose.

"This is a momentous next step," said Santa Clara County Supervisor and VTA Board Vice Chair Cindy Chavez. "It represents more than just moving dirt--it represents being one step closer to moving people to jobs, to family, and to the entire region. Thousands of jobs will be created during construction, with thousands more fueling this transit-oriented development."

The tunnel boring machine will be designed, manufactured, assembled, and tested by the manufacturer at its German factory and then disassembled for shipping. The pieces will then be shipped to Santa Clara County and reassembled at the project's West Portal/Newhall Yard where the tunnel work will begin in 2025.

The machine is expected to take approximately three to four years to complete the five-mile-long tunnel. The boring machine will eventually be extracted on the east side of US 101 near Las Plumas Avenue in San Jose.

The six-mile BART extension will include four new stations in San Jose and Santa Clara. The cost has been estimated at more than $12 billion.

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by Tony Hicks / Bay City News Service

Uploaded: Tue, Nov 7, 2023, 9:54 am The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority said Monday it authorized the purchase of the transit tunnel boring machine to complete the five-mile underground section of the VTA BART Silicon Valley extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara. The transit authority said in a statement that it ordered the $76 million custom-built tunnel boring machine from Herrenknecht, a company specializing in customized tunneling equipment for projects around the world. The state-of-the-art boring machine will dig the largest single-bore transit tunnel in the world, nearly 54 feet in diameter. It's capable of digging 30 to 40 feet a day, according to VTA. "There's no turning back now," said San Jose Mayor and VTA Board Member Matt Mahan, in a statement released Monday. "This purchase cements our commitment to connecting the entire Bay via rail. When complete, BART to Silicon Valley will unlock tremendous transit capacity and economic growth for our region." The machine will be designed to operate in areas with high water tables, and the geology of sands, gravels, silts, and clays prevalent in the South Bay. VTA said there were extensive geotechnical investigations through comprehensive boring samples along the route that will connect the downtown San Jose Diridon Station and Santa Clara with the newly opened BART Berryessa station in North San Jose. "This is a momentous next step," said Santa Clara County Supervisor and VTA Board Vice Chair Cindy Chavez. "It represents more than just moving dirt--it represents being one step closer to moving people to jobs, to family, and to the entire region. Thousands of jobs will be created during construction, with thousands more fueling this transit-oriented development." The tunnel boring machine will be designed, manufactured, assembled, and tested by the manufacturer at its German factory and then disassembled for shipping. The pieces will then be shipped to Santa Clara County and reassembled at the project's West Portal/Newhall Yard where the tunnel work will begin in 2025. The machine is expected to take approximately three to four years to complete the five-mile-long tunnel. The boring machine will eventually be extracted on the east side of US 101 near Las Plumas Avenue in San Jose. The six-mile BART extension will include four new stations in San Jose and Santa Clara. The cost has been estimated at more than $12 billion.

The state-of-the-art boring machine will dig the largest single-bore transit tunnel in the world, nearly 54 feet in diameter. It's capable of digging 30 to 40 feet a day, according to VTA.

The machine will be designed to operate in areas with high water tables, and the geology of sands, gravels, silts, and clays prevalent in the South Bay.

The six-mile BART extension will include four new stations in San Jose and Santa Clara. The cost has been estimated at more than $12 billion.

I have a hard time seeing how this is a good purchase rather than a one-time job for a third party. What happens to our $76M after the tunnel is bored?

I agree with Dan. I would also like to know whether The Boring Company was considered. A follow-on article could clarify these points. Thanks!

My son and I were discussing thais at lunch. He looked up the SF Muni central subway machine. STANDARD STOCK (20 ft or so tunnel). Bought and paid for - resold when 'the boring' part of that project was done (a few years - 3 maybe) and HAD MANY INTERESTED POTENTIAL BUYERS. Now, with a Once in The World Machine / what is the resale market? $0 or Zero, sell for scrap, I''ll take it Out Your Hands for only a million???? / In my R&D engineering opinion / not a great decision. Fine though, if Money No PROBLEM! and Delays NO PROBLEM!

Folks, you're looking in the wrong place. The whole project is now expected to cost over $10 billion. This machine costs less than 1% of that. At any rate, once VTA chose the type of tunnel, they didn't have a lot of choice left for the type of machine. If you want to figure out how to save money on rail projects, ask where the rest of the $10B is going.

BART has a huge design flaw in that it uses wide (Indian) gauge. This means that they need all-custom equipment.

Bart to Santa Clara through downtown San Jose underground was already a bad idea. But where there once would have been few riders, now there will be hardly any riders. It's a recipe to burn money with no benefit. But, that's all VTA does anyway in a lot of ways.

@ivg. The problem isn't just the tens of millions for this one (unique) machine. By designing the entire system project - to use a non-standard and uniquely large equipment, they have builtin additional delays and cost overruns. That sort-of-stuff compounds. What are their project carry expenses, once the clock starts? Or since it has been 'ticking'? Getting this one unique machine going / The Whole Project depends on Just This Machine. IF A SINGLE POINT FAILURE, it becomes an obstruction in the timeline for finishing and Carrying Passengers. That is, because there will be NO SPARE PARTS anywhere else in the world!

Here is the link to see how the SF Central Subway project bored tunnels under the middle of The City. SFMTA link: Web Link They bought and then resold TWO boring machines!

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VTA board approves purchase of machine to bore BART line | News | Mountain View Online |