On December 3, the entire line of China-Laos Railway was put into operation——
All the way to the old mountains and rivers to become smooth
Guangming Daily reporter Zi Qian
At 16:45 on December 3, as the first trains of Fuxing and Lancang departed from Kunming Station in China and Vientiane Station in Laos at the same time, the full length of 1035 kilometers, the entire line of the China-Laos Railway, which adopts Chinese standards, was put into operation. . In the early stage of operation, the China-Laos Railway will dynamically adjust its passenger and freight train operation plans based on the epidemic prevention and control situation and changes in passenger and freight volume demand. It is reported that plus the port clearance time, passengers can arrive from Kunming to Vientiane in about 10 hours at the fastest.
As a landmark project of the “Belt and Road” and China-Laos friendship, the China-Laos Railway will provide strong support for accelerating the completion of the China-Laos Economic Corridor and building a China-Laos community with a shared future. The opening and operation of the China-Laos Railway has fulfilled Laos’ long-cherished wish from a “land-locked country” to a “land-linked country”, and is of great significance to the close economic, social and cultural cooperation and exchanges between China and Laos.
Build China’s “Intelligent Manufacturing” Model Railway
The China-Laos Railway is located in the mountainous areas of southwestern Yunnan and northern Laos. The overall terrain slopes from northwest to southeast. The terrain is undulating, with high mountains and deep valleys. The relative height difference between the highest point and the lowest point is 2900 meters. Approximately 70% of the passing area is mountainous, and bridges and tunnels account for more than 87%. It is called a railway that “travels in a hole or in the air”.
During the construction process, the builders of the China-Laos Railway overcame objective conditions and difficulties, and successively built 15 long tunnels over 10 kilometers, as well as the “brother bridges” across the Lancang River, the Jinghong Lancang River Bridge and the Ganlan Dam Lancang River Bridge. The Guanping double-track bridge, which spans two roads, and the super-100-meter four-line railway bridge, the Nanxi River fourth-line bridge, etc.
In order to better achieve the design goals of the China-Laos Railway, the construction team used intelligent route selection technology to optimize the route plan. Xie Yi, chief engineer of the China Railway Second Institute and the overall design of China-Laos Railway, said that high-pier, large-span bridges and long tunnels should be used in areas with severe terrain fluctuations to reduce the length of the line and save engineering investment; major adverse geological conditions should be avoided, and they cannot be avoided. When passing through environmentally sensitive areas, carry out multiple options such as bypassing, substituting tunnels for roads, and substituting bridges for roads to minimize the impact on the environment.
“Take the China-Laos Friendship Tunnel of’One Tunnel Connecting the Two Countries’ as an example. The length of the tunnel is 9,590 meters. It is a cross-border tunnel connecting China and Laos. In some places, the salt rock content is up to 80%. Aimed at the strong dissolution of salt rock , Strong corrosion, swelling, etc., we put forward the treatment plan of “grouting water blocking, all-inclusive waterproofing, reinforced material anti-corrosion, circular reinforced structure”, and finally formed a tunnel structure suitable for high-content salt rock formations And waterproof system.” Xie Yi said, among them, a complete set of technologies such as material anti-corrosion and anti-seepage measures, construction methods, monitoring plans, and environmental protection treatment methods for salt rock waste slag suitable for salt rock formation tunnels are the first in China.
“Tailor-made” to facilitate people’s travel
In addition to the route design, the “Lan Cang” operated by Laos in the China-Laos Railway also attracted attention. It is reported that the “Lancang” was jointly manufactured by the Lao China Railway Company organized bidding and procurement, and a company affiliated to CRRC Group. In the design and manufacturing process, China Railway Group relied on the mature technology of the China Fuxing Power Centralized EMU, and made adaptive improvements to the cross-border transportation environment and line conditions. It has advanced technology, safety and reliability, large passenger capacity, and comfortable ride. Features such as operating economy.
According to the relevant person in charge of China Railway International Co., Ltd., the naming of the “Lancang” originated from the ancient kingdom of Laos, the “Lancang” kingdom and the Lancang River that flows through China and Laos. Comrades, good partnership. The exterior of the “Lancang” EMU body is painted in the Lao national flag colors of “red, blue and white”, which means “the beauty of the national flag”. The interior of the EMU adopts two themes of “Zhanba Tianxiang” and “Splendid Jiangshan” design.
“The maximum operating speed of the’Lancang’ EMU is 160 kilometers per hour. There are standard power sockets in China and Laos under each seat of the EMU compartment. Passenger information display, broadcast and service signs are in Chinese, Laotian, and English. Language, equipped with dining car, barrier-free seats, blind signs and other facilities.” The person in charge said.
It is reported that during the initial period of operation of the China-Laos Railway, 25 stations including Kunming, Yuxi, Yuanjiang, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, Mohan, Boding, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Penghong, and Vientiane were put into operation on the entire line. Among them, Mohan, Boding Station adopts integrated design and key technologies of cross-border interconnection. It has domestic and international train arrival and departure lines. It is a port station that can realize fast customs clearance.
“In order to provide passengers with a more convenient travel experience, we fully consider the national conditions and passenger habits of Laos, learn from the mature technology and business model of China Railway 12306, and’tailor-made’ a brand-new ticket system for Laos, supporting multilingual services, Multi-currency payment and settlement.” Li Tianyi, a staff member of the Chinese Academy of Railway Sciences, expressed the hope that through meticulous work, the China-Laos Railway can better serve the people of the two countries.
Draw a new blueprint for win-win cooperation
Before the completion of the China-Laos Railway, there was only a 3.5-kilometer-long railway in Laos. For a long time, the traffic bottleneck has become an important factor restricting the economic development of Laos. As a landlocked country surrounded by the 5 countries of China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia, Laos has no ports and is mostly mountainous. Its unique geographical location and complex topography have severely hindered the country’s development. It is a veritable “landlocked country”.
“The opening and operation of the China-Laos Railway will change everything. It will not only realize Laos’ historic leap from a land-locked country to a land-union country, but it will also promote the economic development between China and Laos and truly achieve the goal of win-win cooperation. “The relevant person in charge of the National Railway Group stated that, as an important backbone of the Trans-Asian Railway, the China-Laos Railway will also become the “golden key” for Laos to connect to China in the north and to Thailand, Malaysia and other ASEAN countries in the south, and to free trade between China and ASEAN. The economic cooperation in the region and the Greater Mekong Sub-region has had a positive impact.
In addition, apart from the physical distance link, the China-Laos Railway is also a bond of friendship between the people of China and Laos. During the construction process, the builders of China and Laos worked together to overcome difficulties and participated in many charitable actions such as emergency rescue, medical assistance, and donation to school. The project construction led to 110,000 local jobs in Laos and helped Laos build nearly 2,000 kilometers of roads and canals. , The purchase of local materials and supplies in Laos exceeded 5.1 billion yuan.
“After I came to work at the Laos-China Railway, I learned more knowledge and used higher-end equipment. After I have accumulated experience and technology in the future, I might be able to set up a surveying and mapping company and cooperate with Chinese companies.” 34-year-old Songzhai Saiyafong, a Lao employee of China-Laos Railway, said that he has been working on the railway for 4 years, and he has seen the tunnels and bridges in the middle of the mountains bring a better living environment. “Without this railway, I would not have the idea of going out of Laos. Now I want to get on the train right away and take a look outside.”
“Guangming Daily” (version 03 on December 04, 2021)
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