Rail bridge upgrade to boost coal transport efficiency

Renovation work on a key bridge along the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway — a major national heavy-duty railway transporting about 350 million metric tons of coal each year — has been completed, ensuring the smooth flow of energy supplies across North China.

Construction workers from China Railway No 4 Engineering Group (CREC4) completed the renovation on the grand bridge traversing the South Canal in Hebei on Nov 11. The project involved replacing a 65.1-meter steel truss beam and reinforcing the bridge's foundation piles, abutments and pier columns.

The 594-kilometer Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway, which boasts 33 stations traversing Shanxi and Hebei provinces, is a national first-class, double track, electrified rail line which commenced operation on May 18, 2000. It is the second largest and busiest heavy-duty railway after the 653-km Datong-Qinhuangdao Railway, put into operation in 1992.

Zhao Hongdi, a CREC4 staff, said the renovation completely eliminated potential hazards on the South Canal Grand Bridge, as its 243A# steel truss girder — built and put into service in 2004 — had been in service for over 20 years. Since 2013, the bridge has gradually developed defects such as cracks in the web of the girder, as well as cracks in the connecting angle steel of the bearing pads, posing safety risks to this energy artery.

Besides the steel truss girder replacement, the renovation project also includes the simultaneous completion of coordinated transition construction of equipment and facilities such as the track, contact network and three electrical cables, he said.

"The newly replaced steel truss weighs 420 tons, and can support heavy-duty trains to travel at speeds of up to 120 km per hour," Zhao said.

He noted that coal transported along the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway is directly linked to the normal operation of power plants and enterprises along its route, as well as the stable electricity supply for countless households

"It serves as a strategic lifeline for ensuring energy supply in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Bohai Rim, and even the eastern and southern parts of China," he noted.

In a working conference held on Jan 8 for railway construction for the year 2025, Song Xiude, general manager of State railway operator China Railway, called for better leveraging the service and support role of railways for major national strategies.

Zhao said the project team from CREC4 has innovatively adopted a precise "longitudinal movement + lateral movement" construction plan.

"The longitudinal movement is carried out by a 16-ton slow speed winch through a 'crossbeam + slider' traction movement, while for lateral movement, two 100-ton continuous jacks are utilized to push and position on the preset lateral slide," Zhao said.

The successful completion of the project not only solved the safety hazards caused by the aging bridge structure, but also ensures a significant rise in traffic capacity of this energy artery, he said.

"Moreover, this successful practice has also verified the advanced construction technology for efficient and precise renovation of large-span and heavy tonnage bridges under complex operating conditions, providing valuable references for the maintenance and renovation of similar busy railways in the country," Zhao added.