Complex steel truss girder placement on right track

The latest update on the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou Railway involved an engineering marvel. In January, a significant milestone was achieved at the construction site of the Songjiang section, a critical part of this railway project.

A colossal steel truss girder, weighing more than 2,970 tons and measuring 128 meters in length, was masterfully rotated in mid-air.

This intricate maneuver, which involved moving the girder 44.5 meters and rotating it 20 degrees counterclockwise, was completed within a span of 516 minutes.

This complex operation was strategically conducted during three nightly railway “window periods,” necessitating non-stop, round-the-clock work from all participating units for a staggering 430 days.

Meng Fanhua, the director of the Shanghai Railway Hub Construction Command, explained that the construction involved three primary tasks: assembling, sliding and lowering the girder.

“The rotation during the sliding process was akin to moving the second hand of a clock by 3.3 seconds,” Meng said.

The successful rotation and placement of the 128-meter steel truss girder marks a significant achievement in the Songjiang section of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou Railway.

It represents the completion of the last critical and challenging node in the project, paving the way for the entire railway line to be structurally connected.

This accomplishment is a crucial step towards the comprehensive laying of tracks and ultimately, the railway’s completion and opening.

The Shanghai Railway Hub Construction Command has meticulously organized design, supervision and construction teams to optimize plans and seize prime construction periods.