The Xi'an-Ankang high-speed railway in northwest China, which officially entered service on Monday, has embraced green construction with its low-impact design and building methods to boost ecological preservation of the Qinling Mountains.
Traversing the Qinling Mountains, the line slashes travel time between the two cities in Shaanxi Province from about three hours in the past to just around 45 minutes, making a daily commute feasible.
The newly built main line of the railway has a total length of about 171 kilometers and a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. The line starts at the Xi'an East Station, crosses the Qinling Mountains and connects to the Ankang West Station with a total of five stations along the route.
The bridge-tunnel ratio along the entire Xi'an-Ankang line exceeds 90 percent. Among its components, the Qinling Taixingshan Tunnel, with a total length of 18.8 kilometers, is a controlling project for the whole line.
To reduce damage to the original topography, landforms, and ecological environment, the tunnel was constructed using a deep-burial scheme, allowing the route to pass deep underground through ecologically sensitive areas.
Meanwhile, the supporting power supply facilities use overhead lines that run 78.5 kilometers through the dense forest area of the Qinling Mountains. To protect the integrity of the ecosystem structure in the Qinling Mountains, the construction company adjusted the height of the power transmission towers.
"We raised the height of the tower by more than six meters. After the increase, it generally reaches between 30 and 34 meters," said Wang Jianrui, senior engineer, Xi'an-Chengdu High-Speed Railway Shaanxi Co., Ltd.
Xi'an-Ankang high-speed railway embraces green construction to boost environmental protection
