In the Kalanuoer Pass deep in the Tianshan Mountains, the first tunnel of the entire Yia Railway has been officially excavated, and the new passage of the north-south railway crossing the hinterland of the Tianshan Mountains has entered a critical stage of comprehensive construction of the tunnel main project. This national key railway project, which has been planned for many years, is gradually laying out the blueprint of direct connection between the north and south of Xinjiang into reality.

12 kilometer complex tunnel starts mechanized construction

The Karanoor Tunnel has a total length of 12.058 kilometers and passes through 6 large geological fault zones. During the construction process, there are multiple risks such as water and mud inrush and collapse, making it one of the most difficult control projects along the entire line. The Yia Railway is a single track electrified mixed passenger and freight railway. The tunnel excavation section is only about 60 square meters, and the working space is much smaller than that of conventional double track tunnels. It is difficult for conventional large-scale construction equipment to be directly adapted.

The project department has established a specialized technical team of over 30 people to optimize equipment selection while ensuring that the equipment functions are intact and meet the needs of vehicles passing through the tunnel. Ultimately, the entire process of tunnel mechanization is achieved, and the efficiency of single cycle excavation is improved by 40% compared to traditional manual operations. The successful entry into the tunnel this time fully tested the scientific and standardized nature of the preliminary preparation work, which not only opened up key processes for the subsequent tunnel construction of this section, but also provided a demonstration reference for the construction of 17 similar tunnels along the entire line. As of early October, the entire Yia Railway has completed excavation of 2.3 million cubic meters of roadbed earthwork, and the completion rate of bridge pile foundation construction has exceeded 62%.

The construction of the direct connection channel between northern and southern Xinjiang is steadily advancing

Since the entry of the entire line, nearly 4000 construction personnel and more than 600 sets of engineering equipment have been scientifically allocated by various participating units of the Yia Railway, and various types of engineering construction such as roadbed, bridges, and tunnels have been synchronously promoted at multiple points. Breakthroughs have been made in a number of key nodes. As the key and difficult tunnel projects along the entire line gradually enter the main construction stage, the project construction is steadily moving towards the completion goal of December 2032.

The Yi'a Railway starts from Yining Station, passes through the Fourth Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps in Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, and finally connects to Aksu Station. The total length of the line is about 798 kilometers, with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour, and the entire line is equipped with 11 ecological protection special channels. Keywords: railway infrastructure, railway freight transportation

After the completion of the project, it will completely end the history of trains passing through Turpan between Yining and Aksu. The railway transportation distance is expected to be shortened by about 800 kilometers, and the travel time will be reduced from the original 16 hours to about 8 hours. It will directly connect the Jinghuo Railway and the South Xinjiang Railway, adding more than 30 million tons of freight capacity to the North and South Xinjiang every year, and providing a new railway artery support for the coordination of material circulation industries and the construction of border channels in the two regions.Editor/Cheng Liting