Shuohuang Railway Pioneered the Industry with Mechanized Desilting for Long and Large Tunnels

On February 14, Shuohuang Railway Co., Ltd. (“Shuohuang Railway” for short) under CHN Energy desilted a 420-meter-long ditch in the Changliangshan Tunnel with machines for the first time, setting an unprecedented example in mechanized desilting for long and large tunnels of heavy-haul railways in China.

A desilting machine works in the Changliangshan Tunnel.

The 12.78-kilometer-long Changliangshan Tunnel, located on the border between Ningwu County and Yuanping City in Shanxi Province, is the longest dual-track electrified railway tunnel with the toughest maintenance conditions under CHN Energy. Like other ultra-long tunnels of heavy-haul railways in mountainous regions, it features lofty mountains, high water reserve, and long drainage ditches. The tunnel has long been one of the most significant, difficult weak links in the maintenance of the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway. In recent years, operations of heavy-haul trains above 20,000 tons have been more frequent. Due to factors such as scattered coal ashes and integrated tunnel grouting, the siltation of drainage ditches in the tunnel is becoming worse and worse with each passing year, causing impeded drainage and threatening the stability of the roadbed.

The company took the lead to adopt specially retrofitted machines that meet requirements for tunnel operations to desilt the drainage ditches. The machines were mainly railroad excavators installed with tools such square dippers designed for desilting drainage ditches, and can be used for integrated operations including ditch desilting under complicated tunnel environment. Unlike traditional manual desilting, the mechanized method boasts high performance, high efficiency, high safety, and high reliability and effectively solves previous problems such as heavy workload, poor working environment, low efficiency, and high safety risks.