On July 20 at 10:00 AM, a major accomplishment took place at the construction site of Xiangshanling Tunnel exit along the Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway. The first pair of 500-meter-long steel rails were smoothly laid on the ballastless track. This achievement signifies the start of the track-laying process for the entire Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway.

The Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway is being constructed in two phases. The first phase covers the Yiwu to Wenzhou section, while the second phase covers the Hangzhou to Yiwu section. The new main line will be approximately 260 kilometers long and designed to reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour. Throughout the project, there will be a total of 81 tunnels and 117 large and medium-sized bridges, with the bridges and tunnels ratio of 94.5%.

To ensure the track laying construction is carried out safely, with top-notch quality and efficiency, the 11th China Railway Bureau has devised a construction plan, set clear technical standards, and introduced innovative construction methods. They are employing two types of track laying units: the WZ500 for regular track laying and the BLCP500 for laying new long tracks for the adjacent two lines. Now, the track laying progress can reach 9 kilometers per day. The completion of the entire track laying construction is anticipated by the end of 2023.

The Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway is an important project for Zhejiang to achieve the goal of the construction of a one-hour traffic circle within the region and for Jinhua to become an international hub city and a modern urban area. With the target of completing and opening both Phase I and Phase II of the Hangzhou Wenzhou high-speed railway by June 2024, the Jinhua Comprehensive Transportation Hub Office (CTHO) is working with the Hangzhou-Wenzhou Engineering Construction Command to establish an effective collaborative mechanism.

After the Hangzhou-Wenzhou High-Speed Railway is completed and becomes operational, the travel time between Hangzhou and Wenzhou will be reduced from 2 hours to just 1 hour. This development will significantly benefit cities like Dongyang, Pujiang, and Pan’an, as they will be integrated into the high-speed rail network. This development is important not only for the regional road network layout but also for the coordinated growth within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. (Text by Ye Yongyong, photo by Hu Xiaofei)