Cantilever Tunneling Machine

On August 6, the Shenjiacun No. 1 Tunnel on the Xining–Chengdu Railway was successfully holed through, marking a milestone breakthrough in the construction of the Xicheng Railway and laying a solid foundation for the full opening of the line.

The Shenjiacun No. 1 Tunnel, located in Ping'an District of Haidong City, has a total length of 705 meters. The terrain is highly undulating with developed gullies, the surrounding rock is entirely Grade V, and the excavated rock and soil have a severe collapsibility rating, making construction highly difficult.

Since the start of construction, the project team has adopted new equipment and new technologies to solve the difficulties encountered during construction, laying a solid foundation for the early holing-through of the tunnel. In tunnel construction, large mechanical equipment such as cantilever tunneling machines, retractable invert trestles, and intelligent secondary lining trolleys were used, effectively improving tunnel construction quality and shortening the construction period.

It is understood that from mobilization to successful holing-through, the Shenjiacun No. 1 Tunnel consistently adhered to the work safety policy of "safety first, prevention foremost, comprehensive management," relied on the safety management requirements of the construction unit, supervision unit, and project department for tunnel construction, raised the safety awareness of workers, followed the tunnel construction principles of "advance probing, strict grouting, short advance, strong support, rapid closure, and frequent measurement," and actively created a sound and safe construction and production environment.

The Xicheng Railway is an important component of the Lanzhou (Xining)–Guangzhou corridor, the north-south main channel of China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network. Once the entire line is completed and opened to traffic, it will greatly facilitate travel for people of all ethnic groups along the route and is of great significance for strengthening exchanges between the Lanzhou (Xining) urban agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, linking the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "Yangtze River Economic Belt," implementing the strategy of large-scale development of the western region in the new era, and promoting coordinated regional economic development.