China’s longest single-bore, double-track railway tunnel completed
20 May 2024
Inside the completed Desheng tunnel (Image: China Railway Group)
China Railway No.2 Group has completed the construction of what it claimed is China’s longest single-bore, double-track railway tunnel.
The 23km-long Desheng tunnel took 10 years to build and sits at 3,000m above sea level. It forms part of the Chengdu-Huangshengguan section of the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway.
Designed with the assistance of China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, the tunnel’s maximum buried depth is 750m.
It is close to an active fault zone and passes through 17 parasitic folds and one fault, with the construction team dealing with earthquakes, landslides and debris flows during construction.
The completed Desheng tunnel (Image: China Railway Group)
The Chengdu-Huangshengguan section of the railway is 276km long, while the Sichuan-Qinghai Railway is 836km long and is one of eight high-speed lines connecting the north of the country to the south.
Passenger trains on the Chengdu-Huangshengguan section are expected to travel at speeds of up to 200kmh and freight trains at up to 120kmh.
The Desheng tunnel is due to enter service later this year.
