The scale of any work being done in China can strike the imagination of any person. The railway in China was and still is transport number 1 for moving between cities. Passenger railway network in China is probably the largest in the world and continues to grow and strengthen. In principle, for a country with such a high population density, it would be difficult to think of something else. China intends to build the most complicated mountain railway in the world. It will pass through the Qinghai-Tibetan Highland, one of the most geologically active zones on Earth.
The length of the new railway will be 1629 km, and the planned completion date - 2025. At first glance, it is not a very long road, but the complexity of the terrain along which it will pass, is at an extreme level.
From the history of the issue: back in 2006 in China commissioned a grandiose line to Lhasa, the highest in the world (the line passes through a pass point with a height of 5072 m). The length of the line is 1956 km. It connected Tibet and China's inland mainline railway. Then the line was extended to Shigatze, it is another 253 km deep into Tibet.
But, on this the Chinese did not calm down, having set a new goal: to connect Tibet with native China the second latitude line from Sichuan. The future line was named Sichuan-Tibetan railway.
Technically, compared to the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway is even more difficult. "It's like building a huge roller coaster between the most formidable and complex valleys on the extreme plateau. Lin Sheqing, deputy chief engineer, explained. Engineers have to solve many problems, such as geographical error, strong earthquake, dense layer of cobblestone, strong geothermal barrier, low oxygen reserve in the tunnel, etc.. D. In addition, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will cross the Yarlung Tsangpo River 16 times, a total of 300 km of railway tunnels, or 74.6% of the entire railway.
In general, in the future, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will carry more than 48% of passengers arriving in Tibet and 41% of cargo to Lhasa will also be transported by this railway. Meanwhile, it will not only facilitate transportation to Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Garze, Chamdo, Ningchi and Lhoka Prefecture (Shannan), but will also benefit China's trade with southern Asian countries.
The Yaan-Ningchi section of the road is expected to be one of the most complex railway projects in the world, as it passes through the southern section of the Tibetan Plateau and crosses several complex geological zones at once.
The entire length of the project consists of 80% tunnels and bridges, and the total height difference will exceed 16 thousand meters, which is equivalent to two heights of the world's highest Mount Everest.
The design speed of trains on it will be 160-200 km / h. After the commissioning of this railway will reduce travel time from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours and is projected to cost $ 37 billion.
The 1.56-kilometer Milin tunnel has already been built, which was built on the 435-kilometer Sichuan-Tibet Railway, which will connect Lhasa with Ninchi in southeastern Tibet.
The tunnel is one of six 10 km tunnels, which are being built on the most difficult part of the line 160 km / h. The Milin Tunnel is located at an altitude of about 1200 m from the surface and has an average height of 3100 m. The tunnel was considered the "hardest nut" for railway builders, and it was completed on April 7. It was declared that its completion marked a huge progress in the giant railway project.
Whoa! So it's basically a long bullet train to reach the more remote parts of China?