Abstract:

The situation of tunnel construction in China is summarized and it is concluded that China is a country that has the largest number of tunnels and underground works in the world, a country that has the fastest speed in tunnel development in the world and a country that has tunnels with the most complicated geology and structures in the world. It is stated that China’s railway has made great progress in the fields of 250～350 km/h high speed railway, upgrading existing railway to 200～250 km/h speed, railway in plateau frost and heavy haulage railway. The plan of China’s railway development in mediumlong term, the proposed international railways and the major works to be constructed are presented. The tunneling and underground engineering technologies in China, including 1) construction technology for tunnels crossing rivers, lakes and seas; 2) drill and blast technology; 3) tunnel mining technology under shallow cover; 4) tunneling by tunnel boring machine (TBM); 5) tunneling by shield machine; 6) immersed tunnel technology; 7) assistant construction methods; 8) construction technology for retaining structures of deep foundation pits; 9) construction technology for Metro stations; 10) environment protection technology and 11) tunnel quality improving technology, are summarized.

Key words: railway in China, railway development plan, tunnel, underground works, drill and blast method, mining under shallow cover, TBM