Chinese and Arab builders completed the track project three months ahead of schedule in a desert with no one, no water, no oil, and no signal in 24 months, setting multiple African records. The project not only opens up the transportation channel of mineral resources, but also promotes the first systematic launch of China's heavy haul railway technical standards, which has become a landmark project for China Arab countries to jointly build the the Belt and Road with high quality.

On December 30, 2025, in the heart of the Sahara Desert in the province of Tindouf, Algeria, with the precise positioning of the last section of steel rails, the Western Algeria Railway Mining Line project achieved full track paving. This 575 kilometer new railway, jointly implemented by China Railway Construction and Algerian state-owned enterprises, is the first desert heavy-duty railway in Africa and the largest single project undertaken by Chinese enterprises in Algeria.

Running at 'Chinese speed' in the desert

For the first time in Algeria, the CPG500 long rail laying machine was used to successfully lay a single 504 meter long steel rail, achieving a daily welding distance of 4 kilometers. The fixed flash welding rail production line with supporting construction can weld up to 180 welding heads per day on a single line, creating an efficient construction record with an average daily earthwork volume of 100000 cubic meters.

Bridge engineering also broke records - the longest heavy-duty railway bridge in Africa was built, with a maximum of 24 T-beams erected in a single day, setting a new high for local bridge construction efficiency. In the extreme environment of the Sahara Desert where the surface temperature often exceeds 60 ℃, the project team implements a "time+technology" dual control strategy, ensuring the construction quality of the structure and achieving zero safety accidents in the entire high-risk operation process through measures such as staggered pouring and optimized concrete formula.

For the first time, Chinese standards have been systematized and exported overseas

During the project construction process, the builders of China Railway Construction actively adapted to Algeria's railway technology system mainly based on European standards and conducted in-depth research on key track technologies. The project has completed the design of prestressed concrete sleepers for 32.5-ton heavy-duty trucks and 160 kilometer per hour passenger cars operating together for the first time, and has successfully passed the EN13230 series standard testing and certification, realizing the complete verification of China's railway sleeper technology under the international mainstream standard system.

In response to the unfavorable factors of strong wind and sand, large temperature differences, and limited maintenance conditions in desert areas, the design team innovatively adopted technical measures such as "slim waist" section and reserved sand discharge holes in the rail sleeper structure, effectively improving the stability and durability of the track structure and reducing later maintenance costs. This series of technological innovations has filled the technical gap related to local heavy-duty railways, incorporating domestic products such as rails, fasteners, and turnouts into the overall technical plan of the project and obtaining approval from the owner, pioneering the systematic development of China's heavy-duty railway concrete sleeper technology.

Teaching people how to fish and building a team that cannot be taken away

The project construction not only exports Chinese technology and standards, but also focuses on cultivating professional and technical talents for the local area. The project has created over 7000 job opportunities locally, and more than 1000 Algerian technical workers have received systematic training to master professional skills such as heavy-duty railway construction and rail sleeper prefabrication, becoming the core force of local infrastructure.

Dong Guangli, Chinese Ambassador to Algeria, said that the project was a vivid example of the continuous consolidation and deepening of political mutual trust and the continuous improvement and upgrading of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, which injected new impetus into the high-quality joint construction of the the Belt and Road and made positive contributions to the construction of the "New Algeria".

From the sandy Sahara hinterland to the heavy-duty railway with steel rails, the mining line of the western railway in Algeria not only closely connects remote mining areas with active development channels, but also promotes technological cooperation, standard integration, and people to people connectivity between China and Algeria. This railway is becoming a new benchmark for infrastructure cooperation between China and Arab countries, and also provides a new replicable and promotable practical sample for China Railway Construction's overseas large-scale railway construction.Editor/Yang Meiling