The deepest high-speed train station in the world under the Great Wall of China
The Winter Olympics are being held in Beijing. The world’s first driverless high-speed train service has been launched with this great sacrifice. The historic Beijing-Zhangjiakou intercity train service has already begun to take in and take out athletes and officials.
According to CNN, the train is traveling between the two main cities of the Olympics. The 56-minute driverless train ride passes through Badaling Great Wall Station, another great example of modern engineering.
Construction of the station, located at the entrance to Badaling, the most popular part of the Great Wall of China, was completed in 2019. Railways and stations were built underground and much deeper to protect the Great Wall of China from possible damage.
It is 102 meters (335 feet) below the ground floor, a 3-story structure with an area of about 36,000 square meters. It is said to be the deepest and longest underground high-speed train station in the world.
It was not easy to build a base with such a complex design. Especially close to the UNESCO World Heritage Site such as the Great Wall of China. Extreme precautions have been taken during the construction of the 12 km long (6.45 miles) tunnel.
Construction of the tunnel and station began in 2016. It takes 3 years to complete the project.
It takes an average of 90 minutes (more if there are traffic jams) to reach the Great Wall of China from Beijing, the capital of China. This high-speed railway shortened that time to 26 minutes.
This station is a few minutes away from the cable car station on the Great Wall of China and about half a mile from the wall. It also has the second largest escalator in China, 6 meters long and 42 meters high.
The state-owned China State Railway Group has built a high-speed electric multi-unit (EMU) subway to run the 108-mile-long Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway.
The train was opened to the public in early January. It can travel at a maximum speed of 350 kilometers (216 miles) per hour. The average travel time between the two cities for the Winter Olympics is about 2 to 3 hours. The train shortened that time to 56 minutes.
This high-speed train is operated without a driver. However, an inspection driver is always on the train. The train itself can change its speed according to the set speed of different stations.
The train’s 6 bogies have a 5G mobile phone system, a smart lighting system and 2,616 sensors. These gather information from all ages to identify management inconsistencies.
In addition to the main railway line, there are two additional branches that can take authorized passengers from Yanqing and Changli to Olympic Village 2.
China has implemented a 55-day closed-door administration since January 21. So people who go to the Olympics do not have to ride in the same carriage or travel more than once with the same passenger. It is part of the ambitious “ball” process of the Chinese Olympics.
