The last box girder is erected on the Yongzhou section of the Shaoyang-Yongzhou High-speed Railway，on Oct. 25, 2026. (Xinhua)
CHANGSHA, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- With the precise placement of the last box girder on Sunday, the main bridge structures of the Yongzhou section of the Shaoyang-Yongzhou High-speed Railway were completed, laying a solid foundation for subsequent track construction, according to China Railway 25th Bureau Group Co., Ltd.
The Shaoyang-Yongzhou High-speed Railway is an important part of the Hohhot-Nanning corridor in China's "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway network. The line is about 96 km long with a designed speed of 350 km/h. Starting from Shaoyang Station, it runs south through Daxiang District and Shaoyang County in Shaoyang City, and Dong'an County and Lengshuitan District in Yongzhou City, before connecting to Yongzhou Station. The line has three stations: Shaoyang, Shaoyang County and Yongzhou.
According to Jiang Yizhou, head of the beam yard of China Railway 25th Bureau, there are two beam yards in Yongzhou City -- the Dong'an beam yard and the Yongzhou beam yard. The Yongzhou beam yard is mainly responsible for the fabrication, transport and erection of 451 box girders, with the farthest transport distance about 15 km. During transport, the girders cross existing railways and roads five times, and the erection work involves steep gradients and small-radius curves, posing great construction difficulties and high safety risks.
To address these challenges, the project's technical team used BIM 3D modeling to simulate different girder erection conditions, and formulated special safety construction plans for long-distance girder transport, erection on steep gradients and overpass construction across operational lines during track closures. The team introduced a multi-functional bridge erecting machine capable of handling steep gradients, small-radius curves and switching between single- and double-track conditions, and equipped it with an intelligent monitoring system to ensure the safe implementation of key procedures such as span passing, girder placement and turning.
Upon completion and opening to traffic, the Shaoyang-Yongzhou High-speed Railway will cut travel time between Shaoyang and Yongzhou to about 30 minutes. It will further densify the high-speed railway network in southern Hunan, open up a rapid passenger transport corridor linking central and southern Hunan, enhance regional access to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, strengthen transport support for southern Hunan's demonstration zone for industrial transfer, promote urban integration along the line, and boost coordinated high-quality development in southern Hunan.