The authors present
statistical data on tunnels respectively on conventional railways, high-speed railways, and extra-long railways in
China by the end of 2024. According to the data, China′s
operating railways have reached a total length of 162 000 km by the end of
2024. Among these operating railways, there were 18 997 tunnels with a total
length of 24 246 km. New railways opened for traffic in 2024 incorporated 424
tunnels, with a total length of 738 km. There were 2 521 tunnels located on
railways under construction, with a total length of about 6 905 km; there were
5 634 tunnels located on railways under planning, with a total length of about
13 742 km. The total length of high-speed railways that
have been put into operation in China has exceeded 48 000 km, incorporating 4
917 tunnels with a total length of 8 279 km. Among them, 120 were extra-long tunnels with a length of more than 10 km each and a total
length of about 1 536 km. 12 new high-speed railways
with tunnels were opened in 2024, stretching for a total length of 1 981 km and incorporating 356 tunnels,
totaling about 544 km in length. There were 58 high-speed
railways under construction with a total length of 9 866 km, incorporating 1
412 tunnels with a total length of about 3 509 km. The planned high-speed railways included 2 057 tunnels with a total length of about 4
843 km. China had 296 extra-long railway tunnels in
operation, with a total length of about 4 007 km. Among them, 14 were extra-long tunnels over 20 km each, with a total length of about 335 km.
China′s new railways opened in 2024 included 10 extra-long tunnels with a total length of about 138 km. There were 163
extra-long tunnels located on railways under
construction, with a total length of about 2 504 km; there were 259 extra-long tunnels located on railways under planning, with a total length
of about 3 633 km. The authors also provide an overview of tunnels located on
the new key projects opened in 2024, including Foshan-Dongguan
intercity railway, Chengdu-Lanzhou railway, Lanzhou-Zhangye No.3 & No.4 line high-speed
railway, and Chizhou-Huangshan railway. The
characteristics of these tunnels are highlighted, along with a summary of the
technical experience gained from them. The Foshan-Dongguan
intercity railway has adopted geological route selection and segment measures
such as "double admixing technology" and distributed mortise-and-tenon structure, effectively reducing
the safety risks of tunnel construction. The Desheng tunnel on Chengdu-Lanzhou railway has established a comprehensive prevention and
control system for large deformation and developed a double track combined
tunnel rescue station, improving the tunnel deformation prevention and control,
as well as evacuation and rescue capability. The Lanzhou-Zhangye No.3 & No.4 line high-speed
railway has drawn on existing construction experience, significantly reducing
safety risks during construction and operation through disaster-reduction route selection and comprehensive utilization of existing
service galleries. The quality analysis technology for tunnel face surrounding
rock has been successfully applied in tunnels on Chizhou-Huangshan railway, ensuring the safety of tunnel construction. In
complex environments, the construction technology of large-diameter shield tunnels in China will become increasingly mature.
The design and construction level of tunnels under complex geological
conditions will be further improved, and the all-process
mechanization level of the drill-and-blast tunnels will be effectively enhanced.
GONG Jiangfeng
,
WANG Wei
,
LI Xu
,
HE Wei
,
YUAN Yi
,
WANG Fang
,
YANG Changxian
,
DING Xiang
,
HAN He
,
LI Li
,
CAO Yong
. Statistics of China′s Railway Tunnels by the End of 2024 and
Overview of Tunnels of New Projects in 2024[J]. Tunnel Construction, 2025
, 45(3)
: 636
-653
.
DOI: 10.3973/j.issn.2096-4498.2025.03.019
