Survey starts for Jintang sub-sea high-speed rail tunnel

Construction workers start surveying for the Jintang sub-sea tunnel of the Ningbo-Zhoushan railway on May 2 in Yongjiang Estuary in Zhenhai district, Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/zj.zjol.com] 

Construction of the Ningbo-Zhoushan railway recently saw substantial progress as the Jintang sub-sea tunnel, one of the railway's most important sections, started surveying work on May 2.

The tunnel, designed to stretch 16.2 kilometers, connects Beilun district in Ningbo and Jintang Island in Zhoushan. It will be the nation's first and the world's longest subsea high speed rail tunnel.

Map of the to-be-built Ningbo-Zhoushan railway [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

The tunnel will commence a planned five-year construction period next year.

According to people in charge of the survey, they will launch a thorough investigation of the terrain and lithology of the sub-sea area where the tunnel will be built to provide enough information for the final construction.        

The survey will last for one year. A maximum of eight drilling ships and 18 supporting ships will be used.

The Ningbo-Zhoushan railway, spanning 77 kilometers, will put an end to the days when Zhoushan had no rail lines, and shorten the travel time between Zhoushan and Ningbo to only half an hour. 

The project has been equated with the recently-completed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in its grandness and complexity.