On December 12, single-head excavation of the Xiaozhang Tunnel on the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, constructed by China Railway 11th Bureau Group, exceeded the 1,000-meter mark, marking a phased victory in the tunnel's construction.
　　Located in Bin County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province, the Xiaozhang Tunnel is 4,897 m long with a maximum burial depth of about 233 m. The tunnel passes through loess gully and tableland areas, where the tableland edges are crisscrossed by gullies, the terrain is fragmented, and the downcutting of gullies is relatively deep, mostly in a “V” shape. The site features unfavorable geology such as landslides, slumps, and loess sinkholes. The Xiaozhang Tunnel is one of the major and difficult loess tunnel projects on the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway and is also a key project controlling the construction schedule of this contract section. Since the project started, the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway Project Department of China Railway 11th Bureau Group has taken refined management as its main line, fully implemented various control measures for safety, quality, and civilized construction, and overcome many difficulties such as harsh environment, difficult land acquisition and demolition, and complex mountain geology. Through unremitting efforts, it became the first main tunnel in the Shaanxi section of the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway to exceed 1,000 meters in construction, 20 days ahead of the planned schedule. At the same time, tunnel construction has achieved standardized construction methods featuring mechanization, factory-based production, specialization, and informatization. New equipment and new processes are adopted, including the inverted-arch mobile trestle, concrete wet spraying trolley, secondary lining trolley, drainage ditch and cable trough trolley, and automatic temperature-controlled curing trolley, all operated automatically throughout the process. Equipment ensures workmanship, workmanship ensures quality, and quality promotes progress. The project strengthens the “three gates” and adheres to the “three inspections,” taking the tunnel construction “5+1” cyclic operation as the starting point of its management concept, with careful organization and scientific construction, providing a solid foundation for smooth excavation.
　　The Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway (Shaanxi section) is China Railway 11th Bureau Group's first loess tunnel construction. In view of the particularity of loess geology, technical experts from the group company went deep into the site many times to formulate scientific construction plans. Based on actual conditions, the Yinchuan-Xi'an project has persisted in grasping the foundation, strengthening the basics, and emphasizing the grassroots level, striving to improve various assessment and management systems and work processes, clarifying management rights and responsibilities, and enhancing staff quality. With measures such as “ideological advancement and leading action,” “strictness first and safety control,” “defending quality and forging excellence,” “turning the site into a factory and achieving flow-line production,” and “adhering to the three simultaneities and emphasizing environmental and water conservation,” it applies the “12345” management rule to ensure “zero handover” of processes, breaks through the tunnel construction “5+1” cyclic operation, and lays the foundation for realizing the overall goals of “building a first-class” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, “building a safe” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, “forging an excellent” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, “creating an efficient” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, “building an ecological” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway, and “building a harmonious” Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway—the “six Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway” goals.
　　After completion and opening to traffic, the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway will be a fast corridor connecting the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone centered on Xi'an and the Yellow River city belt centered on Yinchuan. It will help improve regional openness, strengthen regional economic cooperation, and promote the rational flow of technology and talent resources. Running through the three provinces and regions of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia, the Yinchuan-Xi'an Railway is part of the national medium- and long-term railway network plan and is of great significance to revitalizing the old revolutionary base areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia.