At around 8:00 am on April 12, 2026, with the completion of the last excavation, the longest control project on the entire Xin Yu Wan high-speed railway line, the Changlinggang Tunnel, was successfully completed. This marks the completion of all 56 tunnels on the high-speed railway main line, designed for a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, clearing the biggest obstacle for the full line to open to traffic by 2025.

The Changlinggang Tunnel is 13325 meters long and is the longest Class I high-risk tunnel on the entire line. The tunnel passes through various unfavorable geological conditions such as karst, gas, and fault fracture zones, making construction extremely difficult. This is like digging a tunnel in a geological museum, "said Sui Hongtao, the project manager of China Railway 12th Bureau New Chongqing Wanzhou High speed Railway, describing the construction process.

Crossing the Geological Museum

The Changlinggang Tunnel, as a bottleneck project for the entire new Chongqing Wanzhou high-speed railway line, has faced numerous challenges since its construction began. The geological conditions inside the tunnel are extremely complex, and during the construction process, 27 faults, 15 caves, and multiple gas outburst zones were encountered.

The construction team adopts advanced technologies such as advanced geological forecasting and microseismic monitoring to real-time grasp changes in the surrounding rock. We are like performing a high-precision surgery, which can only advance a few meters per day, but we must ensure 100% safety, "said Sui Hongtao. At the peak of tunnel excavation, more than 800 workers and over 60 large equipment were working simultaneously.

In addition to the Changlinggang Tunnel, there are a total of 56 tunnels along the entire Xin Yu Wan high-speed railway line, accounting for nearly half of the total length of the main line. Among them, there are 7 extra long tunnels over 5 kilometers long, most of which are located in the complex geological zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir area.

During tunnel construction, builders also face pressure to protect the ecological environment. The line crosses multiple nature reserves and drinking water sources, and the construction party has invested 230 million yuan in ecological protection, adopting a "zero emission" construction plan to minimize the impact on the environment.

New artery of Chengdu Chongqing economic circle

The Xin Yu Wan high-speed railway is an important component of the Beijing Kunming and Baohai passages in China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network, and is also a key section of the Yangtze River high-speed railway passage. The total length of the main line is 251 kilometers, with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour and a total investment of approximately 52.7 billion yuan.

The project started construction in December 2019 and is expected to be completed and open to traffic by 2025. After the opening, the travel time from the central urban area of Chongqing to Wanzhou will be shortened from the current 1.5 hours to about 50 minutes.

This high-speed railway will end the history of the urban agglomeration in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of northeastern Chongqing not being connected to high-speed railways with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and directly serve more than 3.2 million people in counties and districts along the line such as Yunyang, Fengjie, and Wushan. A more convenient high-speed railway corridor will be formed from Chongqing to northern cities such as Xi'an, Zhengzhou, and Beijing.

The New Chongqing Wanzhou High speed Railway is not only a transportation line, but also an important engine for promoting the construction of the Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle, "said the relevant person in charge of Chongqing Transportation Bureau. The high-speed rail will strengthen the radiating and driving role of Chongqing's main urban area in Northeast Chongqing, promoting the flow of talent, capital, technology and other factors.

The construction of the four electrical systems and station buildings is fully underway

With the completion of the entire tunnel, the focus of the construction of the new Chongqing Wanzhou high-speed railway has shifted to the station building and the construction phase of the "four electricity" (electric power, traction power supply, communication, and signal) projects. At present, 6 out of the 8 stations along the entire line have entered the main structure construction phase.

Wanzhou North Station will be expanded into a large high-speed railway station with an area of 35000 square meters, incorporating elements of the Three Gorges culture into its design. After completion, it will become the largest railway hub in northeastern Chongqing. Chongqing East Railway Station, as one of the four major passenger stations in Chongqing, is also under intense construction and will achieve seamless connection of multiple high-speed railway lines.

The "Four Electric" project is the "central nervous system" of high-speed rail, directly related to the safety and efficiency of train operation. The construction unit is currently carrying out the installation of contact line columns and substation equipment, and is expected to complete the main project by the end of this year.

At the end of 2024, the new Chongqing Wanzhou high-speed railway will begin laying tracks; Conduct joint debugging and testing in early 2025. After its opening, this high-speed railway is expected to transport over 30 million passengers annually, greatly promoting the coordinated development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle.

When the Changlinggang Tunnel was completed, electrician Zhang, who had been working inside the tunnel for nearly three years, took out his phone and captured the first ray of sunlight shining into the tunnel entrance. When the high-speed railway is open, I will take the first train with my family from Chongqing to Wanzhou and tell them that this tunnel was built by ourselves

With the last rock layer being cleared, the entire tunnel of the New Chongqing Wanzhou high-speed railway has been completed, and Chinese high-speed railway builders have once again conquered complex geology, adding a 350 kilometer per hour travel artery to the southwestern mountainous areas.Editor/Yang Meiling