HSR Trackwork Nightshift in China 🇨🇳 (2013-07)

Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway or Daxi HSR ( 大西客运专线 ): Track construction nightshift at Yuci District 榆次区, Jinzhong 晋中市, Shanxi 山西, People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国

This video from 2013 provides a snapshot of high-speed rail track construction in the People's Republic of China. At high-speed rail networks we see the widespread use of ballastless tracks, which replace the traditional gravel base with a solid concrete slab. These tracks are supposed to provide a smoother ride, reduce long-term maintenance costs, and can handle frequent, fast and heavy train traffic.

The rails used in rail transport are produced in sections of fixed length in the mill. Rail lengths are made as long as possible, to minimize the number of joints between rails. Then these sections get connected by flash-butt welding to create longer sections at a rail yard adjacent to the new railway track. Those several hundred meters long long-welded rails are then delivered to the site by special trains. Finally those sections get connected by on-site (thermite) welding. The result is a continuous welded rail as it is the standard at modern railways.

In this video an empty rail work train is passing a track construction site on a viaduct. The track used by the work train is completed already. The other track of the dual track line is still under construction. Part of the slab track construction works have to be carried out during night-time to achieve the required tight geometrical tolerances. Radiation from the sun would cause deformation of the track set-up prior to concreting. Pre-cast bi-block concrete sleepers are placed in a slab of cast in-situ reinforced concrete.

Finally, the CRH2-295A trainset is operating on the completed new line.

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Music:
Glendalough cinematic orchestral emotional background music for video by Alan_Frijns from Pixabay