TRACKLAYING has commenced in the Chinese province of Yunnan on the 700km Chongqing - Kunming high-speed line. The first pair of 500m rails has been laid on slab track in Songming county under a project that will see a total of 846km of rail installed, as well as 50 turnouts and 16 expansion joints.
The start of tracklaying follows the completion of civil engineering work on the Chongqing - Kunming high-speed line, where the Yunnan section crosses the Wumeng Mountains in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, characterised by complex geological features. Bridges and tunnels form 87.4% of the alignment, and there are 10 tunnels each over 10km in length, including the 24.8km Zhaotong Tunnel.
Alongside tracklaying, work is underway to complete the final decoration of buildings at the seven new stations on the high-speed line in Yunnan, located at Yanjin South, Yiliang North, Zhaotong East, Huize, Tianba, Xundian East and Changshui Airport.
Designed for operation at up to 350km/h, the Chongqing - Kunming high-speed line runs through the provinces of Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. When completed, it will cut the fastest journey time between Chongqing and Kunming to around 2h 30min.
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