In 2013, Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, broke ground on a mass rapid transit (MRT) system in hope to alleviate the city’s traffic congestion. The rail-based MRT is expected to stretch across over 108 kilometers. A tunnel boring machine (TBM) is being used to construct the underground routes.

In 2013, Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, broke ground on a mass rapid transit (MRT) system in hope to alleviate the city’s traffic congestion. The rail-based MRT is expected to stretch across over 108 kilometers. A tunnel boring machine (TBM) is being used to construct the underground routes. One of the critical phases of the tunnel construction is the pass through, in which the TBM needs to be moved through the underground stations to be relocated to the next drilling position. The narrow composition of the underground stations requires a complex maneuver involving moving the 260 ton TBM sideways 1.47m, lifting .65m, pushing 200m, lowering .65m and finally moving sideways again 1.47m. Moving a heavy load with an uneven weight distribution as in the case of the TBM mandates a system with high precision. Lifting using a traditional method or manually, would not be efficient due the complexity of the job.