[Explanation] On June 16, the Xinjiang Hotan-Ruoqiang railway opened for operation, and the two places reached 11 hours and 26 minutes.
At the same time, it also marks the official formation of the world's first desert railway loop, the 2,712-kilometer-long Taklimakan Desert Railway Loop.
The Heruo Railway is located in the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, the second largest mobile desert in the world. There are 534 kilometers in the wind-sand area, accounting for 65% of the total length of the line. It is a typical desert railway.
The natural environment along the line is harsh, the main wind season lasts for 7 months, the sand damage is serious, and the railway construction is very difficult.
[Same period] Zhang Gang, head of the China Railway 14th Bureau and Ruo Railway Laying Standard Project
This line, in fact, the most difficult and correct to face, is the wind and sand.
Let me give a simple example. For example, when we were building the Yimulakte Bridge, we encountered such a sudden sandstorm, and then our workers could only lie down there, unable to stand up.
It hurts when the sand hits the face, and there is sand in the ears and eyes.
Sometimes when I eat at noon, I will catch up with the sandstorm, and the bowls I eat are full of sand.
[Explanation] The builders of the Heruo Railway must not only overcome the sandstorm problems faced during the construction process, but also consider how to resist sandstorms and protect the railway after the line is completed and put into operation.
[Concurrent] China Railway First Institute Group Xinjiang Railway Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. and Yang Baorong, Chief Designer of Ruo Railway
We have formulated three sets of measures to deal with the hazards of wind and sand. The first is the measure of "replacing roads with bridges".
[Explanation] "Replace the road with bridges", that is, to build 5 "cross-sand bridges" with a total length of 49.7 kilometers across the entire line, allowing sand to pass under the bridges, greatly reducing the threat of sand damage to the line, and also for wildlife. Leave a passage of life that facilitates migration.
In view of the actual situation of serious water shortage during construction and concrete maintenance along the line, the builders adopted prefabricated assembly technology for 434 bridge piers, completed the component processing in the factory in advance, and then transported them to the site to assemble them into complete structures like "building blocks", effectively overcoming the shortage. The impact of water on construction progress.
[Concurrent] China Railway First Institute Group Xinjiang Railway Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. and Yang Baorong, Chief Designer of Ruo Railway
The second is a pattern in which grass squares and reed sand barriers are used to form trapezoidal external resistance and internal solidification.
[Explanation] The Xinjiang railway department takes the greening projects that were usually considered to be the later period as the top priority. In the exploration, the concept of "building railways in deserts, and sand control must be the first" is formed, and the sandstorm protection project is carried out simultaneously with railway construction. 50 million square meters of grass grids will be built, and 13 million shrubs and trees such as Haloxylon ammonium, red willow, and sea buckthorn will be planted, forming a green barrier to prevent sand and protect roads.
[Concurrent] China Railway First Institute Group Xinjiang Railway Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. and Yang Baorong, Chief Designer of Ruo Railway
The third plan is to use the combination of plant sand control and engineering sand control. We have drilled 131 wells across the board for plant irrigation.
[Explanation] Heruo Railway is a desert railway. In addition to planting plants in the construction process, we should also pay attention to ensuring the survival rate of plants and lasting the effect of plants to prevent sand and fix sand.
[Concurrent] Wang Jinzhong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Xinjiang Heruo Railway Co., Ltd.
In this process, in fact, within a range of up to 300 kilometers, how can we prevent (wind and sand)?
In fact, it is a process of understanding our local deserts, Gobi, and saline-alkali land, their characteristics, and the appropriate species.
It cannot be said that it is planted well in the first year, and it even takes two or three years to plant it well.
The biggest difficulty is how to ensure the survival rate, how to (guarantee) after surviving, let it grow, grow taller, and grow luxuriantly.
[Explanation] In order to improve the survival rate and growth of plants, in addition to drilling wells, the Heruo Railway has also applied the intelligent agricultural irrigation system that has been popular throughout the country in recent years, and implemented drip irrigation. The area of drip irrigation lines is 110,000 mu.
The normal operation of irrigation can be ensured through the mobile phone, which saves the maintenance personnel's long-distance travel and saves labor costs.
Today, the survival rate of seedlings along the Heruo Railway has reached more than 80%, and the height of seedlings in the aeolian sand area is also more than 80 cm.
[Explanation] Heruo Railway is the first railway in the country to take a combination of plant protection and engineering protection measures, and to implement the longest sand control in synchronization with the main project.
Facing the problem of wind and sand, the railway builders were not afraid of difficulties and built the ring-tower railway into an ecological circle, laying a solid foundation for the railway to continue to drive the economic development along the line and serve the people in Xinjiang safely and efficiently for a long time.
Sui Zhiyuan reports from Hotan, Xinjiang
Responsible editor: [Ji Xiang]