Putzmeister Contribute to Building Taiwanese HSR in Record TimeA 345 km high speed railway is under construction in Taiwan between capital Taipeh and Kaohsiung in the south. Numerous Putzmeister concrete pumps and placing booms are responsible for conveying the concrete for the construction of dozens of bridges and tunnel sections as well as for the production of thousands of prefabricated segments.Out of the approximately 46 km of tunnels, 42 km will be NATM-driven tunnels. Their excavation is highly demanding for the contracting JVs.For contracts C210 and C215, tunnelling by the Obayashi-Fu Tsu consortium is well on schedule. Contract C210 includes the Hueilung tunnel (2.15 km) and Linkou tunnel (6.45 km). Contract C215 includes the 4.3 km Hukou tunnel and three sections of the Taoyuan tunnel, with a total length of 2.4 km. To concrete the tunnel formworks and tunnel portals, the consortium is using four Putzmeister stationary pumps, types BSA 1408 E and 1409 D. For contract C260 (36.6 km), the Bilfinger Berger / Continental Engineering Corporation (CEC) JV opted for six stationary pumps, models BSA 1407 E and 1408 E working simultaneously on the 9.3 km of tunnel on this section, in particular the 7.4 km Paghuashan tunnel.As early as the tender phase, the Putzmeister CPD (Concrete Project Division) - the department specialised in major projects - was in close contact with the international construction companies interested in participating in the construction. With the support of its agencies in Taiwan, Korea and Japan, Putzmeister worked out individual solutions such as the best possible price for concrete conveying and the most suitable systems for the peculiar construction sites. The nearly 50 concrete pumps and placing booms supplied by Putzmeister for the high speed railway in Taiwan represent the largest contract in the company's history. More info in E-News Weekly 42/2002. Click tw/11. Visit www.pmw.de, www.thsrc.com.tw/emain/main.asp and www.hsr.gov.tw 30/03.