"Extra long bridge" to connect Beijing and Langfang on express railway

The Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway will build an extra large bridge extending from the west Fourth Ring Road to Langfang Railway Station, the longest one in Beijing. After the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway starts operation, a journey from Beijing to Langfang by train will take just 20 minutes. On July 29, Liang Yi, deputy general manager of the building team, told reporters that the construction of China’s longest railway bridge will use steel boxes for the first time to cross over the Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway.

The extra large bridge in Beijing running through Fengtai and Daxing Districts  to Hebei Langfang Station will be 48.153 km long, the longest railway bridge  in Beijing. After the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway starts operation, a  journey from Beijing to Langfang by train will be shortened to 20 minutes.

Liang added that after the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway extends from Beijing South Railway Station, a track foundation will be built leading to a relatively short overpass called the Beijing Bridge. Once construction reaches Fengtai South Road at the west Fourth Ring Road, work on the extra large bridge in Beijing will begin. The bridge will run through Fengtai and Daxing Districts, ending at Langfang Railway Station and will be 48.153 km in length. In addition, a steel box arch will be built over the Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway. The arch will be over 108 meters long, using this type of arch technology in China for the first time.

Structural construction of the extra large bridge in Beijing will be completed by April 2010, and rail tracks will be laid by November 30, 2010.

In addition, the Tianjin South Railway Station newly built for the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway will be elevated, the first of its kind in China.

The 1,318 km long Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway will start at Beijing South Railway Station and end at Shanghai Hongqiao Station. There will be 21 stops along the way, covering Beijing, Langfang, No.2 Tianjin Railway Station, Cangzhou, Dezhou, Jinan, Tai’an, Qufu, Zaozhuang, Xuzhou, Suzhou (Anhui Province), Bengbu, Chuzhou, Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou (Jiangsu Province), Kunshan and Shanghai.

An official from the Ministry of Railways said that the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway will transport 80 million one-way passengers annually. Construction of the entire railway is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. By Labor Day 2011, rail tracks will be laid and system adjustments will begin. After the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway begins operation, a journey from Beijing to Shanghai will take around five hours.

Why are they building an “extra large bridge?”

Elevated bridge design saves land

An officer from China Railway 17 Bureau Group said that the total length of the bridges along the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway accounts for 80 percent of the total length of the railway. On average, one-kilometer of railway occupies about 70 mu of land, but a one-kilometer elevated railway only occupies 27 mu of land. As a result, the elevated bridge design will save land and is suitable for urban planning, development and construction.

At the same time, the elevated bridges specially designed for the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway can only be used by the express rail trains, thus guaranteeing stable high-speed travel.

Translated by LOTO