By rosebell
As the world’s third-longest undersea railway tunnel, following Japan’s Seikan Tunnel and the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, the Jintang Undersea Tunnel’s construction process has advanced on the in eastern China with the start of offshore excavation works.
While the responsibilit of this project is up to China Railway’s 14th Bureau Group, it is slated to become the world’s longest undersea high-speed railway tunnel.
By starting the Dinghai tunnel boring machine’s (TBM) excavation at 42m beneath sea level near Zhoushan City, a major landmark for the undersea high-speed railway tunnel project, according to a report from the CGTN news channel.
Linking Ningbo City’s Beilun District to Zhoushan City as a critical component of the 77km Ningbo-Zhoushan Railway, the Jintang Undersea Tunnel is16.2km long and the estimated date for its completion is 2028.
The mid-May 2024 was the time of commencing tunnel’s construction officially. At its deepest, it will extend 78m below sea level and include an 11.2km shielded section supporting train speeds of up to 250 km/h. Due to geological conditions, the project faces challenges that requires modifications to the TBMs to manage 28 geological strata transitions.
With 135m length, 4,350 tonnes weight, and 308 custom-designed cutters, Yongzhou TBM is working from Ningbo.
Through cross-sea bridge and ferries, Zhoushan and Ningbo are connected now and the tunnel intends to decrease travel time to 30 minutes, down from the current 1.5-hour journey.
As one of the world’s busiest by freight volume, the Jintang Undersea Tunnel passes under the Jintang Channel and is a vital shipping route for Zhoushan Port. The Chinese tunneling project involves navigating complex marine environments, crossing beneath oil pipelines, seawalls, docks, and shipping lanes.
Additionall, as China Railway 14th Bureau Group announced earlier this week,tunneling for Beijing Subway Line 17 has been completed, following the digging of its middle section.
