Tibet Tunnels

Construction on the last two of the 47 tunnels on a 435-km railway linking Lhasa and Nyingchi in Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China was completed on April 7, marking huge progress for the mammoth project.

The Mainling tunnel, located in the city of Nyingchi, is 11,560 meters long with an average elevation of 3,100 meters above sea level and a maximum depth of about 1,200

meters. It is believed to be one of the most difficult tunnels ever built.

The 8.7-km Zagar tunnel in the city of Shannan traverses seven complex geological faults, including one of the thickest water-rich moraine layers.

The completion of the two tunnels on the Lhasa-nyingchi railway has increased the total tunnel length to 216.5 km, almost half of the railway length.

Bridges and tunnels comprise 75 percent of the railway while over 90 percent of it is on the Qinghai-tibet Plateau, more than 3,000 meters above sea level.

Nearly 20,000 builders have been working on the railway since the end of 2014.

As of April 7, 119 bridges were built, leaving just one more to be completed. About 115 km of tracks have been laid, and the rest will be completed by the year-end.

This is Tibet’s first electric railway with a designed speed of 160 km per hour, expected to be put into operation in 2021. coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic continued to ease in China.

Total train trips nationwide hit 11.36 million during the holiday, including 4.125 million on

April 6, a single-day record high since the Chinese New Year holiday that ended in early February, according to data from the China State Railway Group Co.

The holiday saw an average of 260 more trains put into operation every day as the authorities continued to ensure safe and smooth travel.

Local railway authorities have ratcheted up transportation capacity for bullet trains and adhered to containment measures such as disinfecting and body temperature screening.