A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. Tunnels are excavated through hard rock, wet or dry soil, or sand, each of which requires specialized technology.
One of the boring machines used for the Channel Tunnel between France and the United Kingdom
Cutting shield used for the New Elbe Tunnel
Looking towards the cutting shield at the hydraulic jacks
A tunnel boring machine cutter head being lowered underground for the construction of Sydney Metro
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is enclosed except for the portals, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods.
Tunnel in Col du Galibier, France
Tunnel in Fort de Mutzig, France
Decorated portal to a road tunnel in Guanajuato, Mexico
Utility tunnel for heating pipes between Rigshospitalet and Amagerværket in Copenhagen, Denmark