Grand Paris Express is the name of the ambitious infrastructure project in the French capital. A partially driverless metro network is to connect the suburbs and improve local transport. Four new lines are being built, two will be extended and existing ones modernised. The scope is considerable: With 227 kilometres and 308 stations, the network is already the fourth largest in Europe. By the end of the project in 2030, another 200 kilometres and 68 stations will be added.
Doubling the size
Tsurumi has been involved since the project was launched in 2016. The Japanese company with its EU headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany, has equipped several construction sections with dozens of submersible pumps. At the end of 2023, the operators placed another order based on their positive experience. The new order includes a series of pumps especially from the KTZ model range. This pump is one of the most successful in the manufacturer’s product range. It was developed for use in tunnelling and mining. There are 17 types of this versatile submersible pump providing flow rates of up to 3960 l/min and a delivery head of 71 metres.
This includes the KTZ 415, which reaches 2000 l/min and 55 metres. Its motor output of 15 kW is impressive. However, the 146 kg dry weight is a result of the robust design, which relies on resistant materials including chrome cast iron and silicon carbide with diamond-like hardness. The robust pump is built to fulfil the company’s slogan “Stronger for longer”.
30 metres below Paris
The units keep the grounds dry and thus help to time the schedules. Three of the four new lines run in tunnels. Each tube with a diameter of ten metres will contain two tracks. The tunnels found at an average depth of 30 metres and thus in the aquifer. Drainage is crucial for success: work can only continue when it is dry.
Tsurumi is probably one of the preferred partners for the project management because this supplier delivers from stock rather than on order: Almost all of the 500 pump models offered in the EU, with delivery capacities of up to 30 m³/min or 216 m head height, can be delivered within 24 hours, according to Tsurumi. The Japanese do know: tunnelling is one of the supreme disciplines in the tunnelling and mining industry – without reliable and quickly available equipment, it cannot be completed on time.
Source: Tsurumi (Europe) GmbH
