On March 27th, the final 25-meter track panel was precisely laid on the Dafeng Port Grand Bridge, marking the full completion of track-laying for the Dafeng Port Railway Branch Line. This milestone establishes a solid foundation for the line to open on schedule.
The Dafeng Port Railway Branch Line originates from the southern end of Dafeng West Station on the Xinchang Railway and terminates at Dafeng Port Station, with a main line spanning 50.69 kilometers. China Railway Third Bureau Group was responsible for laying 49.46 kilometers of track, as well as for the manufacturing and installation of beams and bridge deck ancillary facilities along the entire route.
The project faced significant challenges, primarily due to bridges constituting 85% of the line's length, which led to frequent transfers between land and bridge sections and complicated the transport of track panels and the laying process. Additional difficulties included working adjacent to the existing Xinchang Railway main line, resulting in substantial interference from交叉 construction and elevated safety risks during track-laying operations.
To successfully complete the track-laying, Donghua Metro Company and local authorities organized the contractor, China Railway Third Bureau Group, to continuously optimize the construction plan. They meticulously identified key difficulties and control points throughout the process, arranged the work sequence and schedule rationally, and adopted a coordinated "manual + mechanical track-laying" operation mode. The project cumulatively deployed over 30 large pieces of machinery, including track-laying equipment, long-rail transport vehicles, and tamping machines. At peak periods, more than 500 workers were on site simultaneously. An innovation was the development of a ballast conveyor machine capable of transferring up to 500 cubic meters of ballast per hour, significantly enhancing laying efficiency.
"The project department established a tripartite collaborative mechanism involving 'government supervision, construction management coordination, and central enterprise construction,' which quickly resolved core issues hindering progress, such as power line relocation, material transport, and railway-adjacent construction, completing the track-laying task two days ahead of schedule," said Luan Ning, the track-laying director at the China Railway Third Bureau project department. "Furthermore, the project department utilized a self-developed engineering line management and dispatch system, enabling round-the-clock monitoring and unified command of equipment like track-layers, long-rail transport vehicles, and welding vehicles, avoiding交叉 interference and effectively increasing the track-laying pace."
The Dafeng Port Railway Branch Line is a key project in Jiangsu Province's strategy to support coastal development. Once operational, it will bridge the "last mile" for sea-rail intermodal transport at Dafeng Port. This is highly significant for improving the port's collection and distribution system, further integrating Dafeng Port with eastern coastal cities and the Yangtze River Delta economic zone into a comprehensive "highway, railway, waterway" transportation network, and promoting regional economic development.
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