China never misses an opportunity to outdo the world in technology, especially when it comes to railways. You must have seen the videos of China’s high-speed trains, where they disappear in the blink of an eye. Now China is going to achieve another great feat with its railways. It is building the world’s longest underwater railway tunnel. China is so technologically advanced that it can sometimes drill through mountains and run trains through them, or sometimes cut through the sea. China’s turbine machines are so powerful that the TBM machine for India’s bullet train also came from China.
World’s longest underwater railway tunnel…
China, the king of technology, is now building the world’s deepest underwater railway tunnel. China is building the world’s longest underwater railway tunnel under the Pearl River. Its depth will be 113 meters or 370.73 feet. The total length of this underwater tunnel is 13.69 kilometers.
Where is the world’s deepest underwater railway tunnel being built?
A part of China’s Shenzhen-Jiangmen High-Speed Railway will go underwater. This tunnel, called the Pearl River Estuary Tunnel, is being built under the Pearl River.
How difficult is it to build an underwater tunnel?
Building a tunnel at a depth of 113 meters underwater is not easy. For this excavation, a huge tunnel boring machine (TBM) called the Shenjiang-1 was used. This machine, also made in China, has a diameter of 13.42 meters. At that depth, excavation was carried out using remote control under water pressure and the tunnel was completed. To make its way, the machine had to pass through 13 geological layers and six fault zones under the sea.
What benefits will this tunnel bring to China?
The construction of this undersea rail tunnel will make travel between two industrial cities in China easier. Trains connecting Shenzhen and Jiangmen will pass through this tunnel. The tunnel will reduce the distance between these two cities to less than an hour.
