China inaugurated a cross-sea high-speed railway line linking Fuzhou and Zhangzhou via Xiamen, along the west coast of the Taiwan Strait. The trains stop at the rail stations in the cities of Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou and reduces journey time to under an hour between Fuzhou and Xiamen. Before the opening of the new connection, the fastest train trip used to take around 1 hour and 20 minutes.
The 277 km line has a 20 km section built over the sea crossing three coastal bays such as Quanzhou Bay, Meizhou Bay and Anhai Bay via cross-sea bridges.
The project included the construction of 84 bridges, 29 tunnels, which account for 85 percent of the total length, explained Rao Huiming, the vice general manager of Southeast Coast Railway Fujian Co., Ltd., the construction company of the railway route.
“This railway line brings together almost all challenges encountered during the construction of previous high-speed rail projects,” said Li Pingzhuo, project manager of China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd., the company that designed the railway project.
The construction of the three cross-sea bridges has successfully conquered challenges posed by strong winds, high waves, deep waters and the corrosive nature of the marine environment, Li said, adding that the railway has been fortified against earthquakes as it passes through an area with a high seismic risk.
As a key link of the railway, the 14.7-km Meizhou Bay cross-sea bridge, is believed to be the country’s first extradosed cable-stayed bridge on a sea-crossing high-speed railway. The Quanzhou Bay cross-sea bridge is beefed up with windproof structures and technologies to allow trains to pass at the maximum speed even in 8-grade gales. The Anhai Bay Grand bridge has the country’s first ballastless track laid on a cross-sea bridge, a design that prevents the assails of flying rocks in windy weathers. The railway also features various intelligent technologies, including the Internet of Things, edge computing and geographic information system, to ensure safe and sound operation, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
China invested USD 7.4 billion (53 billion yuan) to construct this new line, an important and ambitious transport infrastructure project designed to increase the connectivity in Fujian, whose transport options and efficiency have long been constrained by its mountainous terrain.
According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the line is country’s first cross-sea high-speed railway with a designed speed reaching 350 km/h.
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