The underwater section of a vast tunnel under contruction inChinahas been completed, in a major milestone for the project. The Chongming-Taicang Yangtze River tunnel is a high speed train tunnel connecting Shanghai's Chongming District and Taicang City in eastChina's Jiangsu Province.
By running under the Yangtze River, bullettrainscan maintain high speeds, slashing the journey times for commuters and holidaymakers. The entire strech extends along 14.25km (8.8 miles), including the 11.18-kilometer (6.9-mile) underwater section.
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Completion of the latter was announced by Xinhua, a state media outlet, on April 4.
The underwater part was done using Linghang, China's domestically developed high-speed-rail shield tunnelling machine. It's been hailed as an important feat of engineering.
The machine stretches over 148 meters, weighs approximately 4,000 tonnes, and has advanced intelligent control systems that allow it to navigate safely through "high‑pressure, geologically complex conditions", as perTunnelBuilder.com.
China's flagship CR400 trains, which will be used on the line, can travel up to 350kmph, requiring precise tunnel dimensions to ensure the safety of passengers as services zoom across huge distances in the blink of an eye.
While a specific cost for the underwater section doesn't appear to have been widely reported, it's part of the larger Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei high-speed rail line, which is itself part of the overarching Shanghai–Chongqing–Chengdu line - a colossal railway construction project that stretches over 2,000 km (around 1,242.7 miles).
That whole project has total investment of 500 billion yuan (around £54.2billion).
Source: Daily Express :: World Feed
