On January 11, the Baluo No. 2 Tunnel on the domestic section of the China-Laos Railway, constructed by CCCC First Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., was fully bored through. To date, 89 of the 93 tunnels on the domestic section of the China-Laos Railway have been holed through, and the pre-station civil works along the entire line have been basically completed, laying a solid foundation for the full completion and opening of the China-Laos Railway in 2021.

The China-Laos Railway connects China at one end and Laos at the other, and is of great significance for improving Laos's transport conditions, forming a high-capacity railway passenger and freight transport corridor along the route, and driving the rapid development of regional industrial economies.

The Baluo No. 2 Tunnel holed through this time is 5.8 kilometers long, with a maximum burial depth of 260 meters. It lies at the junction of the Red River and Lancang River faults and passes through coal-bearing strata, posing a risk of gas accumulation. At the same time, the entire tunnel mainly consists of mudstone intercalated with sandstone and carbonaceous shale strata, making construction highly prone to collapse, deformation of the initial support steel frames, and arch removal and replacement, and making construction organization and management difficult.

“In response to specific problems during construction, we promptly adjusted the construction operation management model and excavation method, summarized a one-time excavation method for the three-bench with invert, adopted post-grouting with radial steel perforated pipes, adjusted the excavation profile and other deformation control measures, and won time for fast excavation, fast support and fast closure, ultimately achieving the safe and smooth holing-through of the Baluo No. 2 Tunnel,” introduced Liu Tiecheng, project manager of CCCC First Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd.

By the end of 2020, cumulative investment in the domestic section of the China-Laos Railway accounted for 95.66% of total investment; the bridge and subgrade works before stations along the entire line were basically completed; the traction power supply construction of the post-station “four-electric” works along the entire line was 40% complete overall; communications and information construction was 30% complete overall; the main construction of station buildings was basically completed; and track laying along the entire line was 25% complete, with all work proceeding in an orderly manner as planned.

The China-Laos Railway is more than 1,000 kilometers long and is a project aligning China's “Belt and Road” initiative with Laos's strategy of “transforming from a landlocked country into a land-linked country.” After completion and opening, it will take only about 3 hours from Kunming, Yunnan Province, to Jinghong, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, and travel to Vientiane, Laos, is expected to be possible overnight.