On the 14th, it was learned from the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway Construction Headquarters that key projects of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, including the Galashan Tunnel, Zangga Tunnel, and Zangmu Yarlung Tsangpo River Grand Bridge, have all commenced construction.
According to reports, construction on the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway began in December 2014. Starting from Lhasa Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the line passes through three cities and nine counties in Tibet, with a newly built main line length of 403 kilometers and an operating length of 435 kilometers. The total length of bridges and tunnels along the entire line is 300.9 kilometers, accounting for 74.64% of the line length. It is planned to build 34 new stations, with 17 opening in the initial phase.
“The Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is located in the southern Tibet valley between the Gangdise Mountains, the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, and the Himalayas. The engineering geological conditions are complex, transportation along the route is inconvenient, the natural environment is harsh, and construction is difficult,” said Wang Rui, chief engineer of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway.
It is understood that the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway crosses the Yarlung Tsangpo River 16 times along its entire length, with 6 extra-long tunnels over 10 kilometers and 15 long tunnels over 5 kilometers. The schedule-controlling projects include the Galashan Tunnel, Zangga Tunnel, Bayu Tunnel, Zangrila Tunnel, Jiangmula Tunnel, Dagala Tunnel, Gangmulashan Tunnel, Milin Tunnel, and Zangmu Yarlung Tsangpo River Grand Bridge.
At the construction site of the Xiangga Mountain Tunnel on the south bank of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the reporter saw that while workers were carrying out intense excavation work inside the tunnel, water-spraying vehicles were being used at the tunnel entrance to spray and suppress dust. Not far away, various building materials were neatly stacked, and engineering machinery was carrying out earth-filling work for the planned Gonggar Railway Station.