The Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway track laying is fully completed.

On November 27, the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway completed full track laying. The image shows an aerial view of the track laying operation.

On November 27, with the final pair of 500-meter-long steel rails smoothly laid on the Shending River Super Major Bridge in the Hubei section of the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway, the entire track laying for the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway was completed. This marks the successful connection between the Wuhan-Shiyan high-speed railway and the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway, laying a solid foundation for the timely completion and operation of the Wuhan-Xi’an high-speed railway.

The Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway starts from Xi’an East Station, passing through Lantian, Shangluo West, Shanyang, Manyanguan, and Yunxi stations, connecting to the existing Shiyan East Station. The main line spans 255.7 kilometers with a design speed of 350 km/h.

The Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway traverses the Qinling Mountains, with bridges and tunnels accounting for 95% of the route, involving 14 sections of track laying on long steep slopes. Since the full track laying began on September 8 this year, construction units optimized construction techniques and coordinated resource allocation to overcome complex conditions including continuous passage through dense long steep slope groups and track laying in the confined space of the 22.9-kilometer single-tunnel single-track tunnel, the longest of its kind in China’s railway system. To ensure safe and orderly track laying, construction units innovatively used high-power crawler tractors combined with heavy track laying equipment, supplemented by continuous ventilation and smoke exhaust systems, achieving a maximum daily track laying of 10 kilometers and an average daily track laying of 6 kilometers. The track laying completion point is located on the Shending River Super Major Bridge of the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway. The bridge spans 841.05 meters with the highest pier reaching 108 meters, making it the super major bridge with the highest piers along the entire Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway route.

The Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway is part of the Wuhan-Xi’an high-speed railway. The Wuhan-Shiyan high-speed railway has been in operation since November 29, 2019.

After the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway opens, travel time between Xi’an and Shiyan will be reduced to within 1 hour, while the railway journey between Wuhan and Xi’an will be shortened from the current 5 hours to approximately 2.5 hours.