- China just recently unveiled a second dragon-themed tunnel boring machine and announced it will dig an undersea railway.
- China is touting it as the world’s longest undersea high-speed rail tunnel.
- But that’s probably debatable. Japan’s high-speed tunnels have long underwater sections.
China’s state-run railway giant on Monday unveiled a second dragon-themed tunnel-boring machine for what it claims is the world’s longest undersea railway channel.
According to state media outlet People’s Daily, the Yongzhou machine unveiled at China Railway Construction’s Changsha facility was painted with a “lucky dragon” to commemorate the Year of the Dragon.
Another spectacular tunnel-boring machine, Dinghai, also painted to resemble a dragon, was unveiled at the same facility in January.
A worker records a tunnel boring machine TNM Dinghai at the China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. industrial park in Changsha, central China’s Hunan province, on January 10, 2024.
Chen Shihan/Xinhua via Getty Images
State media said both machines will be used to excavate the Jintang Undersea Tunnel, a railway channel that is about 16 miles long and 85 feet below the ocean floor.
The Jintang Undersea Tunnel has been hailed by Chinese media as “the world’s longest undersea high-speed rail tunnel,” although that title may be debatable.
Japan’s Seikan High Speed Rail Tunnel includes an even longer underwater section, 24.5 miles long, under the Tsugaru Strait. Speed is limited to 160 mph.
The Channel Tunnel, which connects Britain and France, boasts an even longer underwater section of approximately 38.5 miles, with trains operating at speeds of up to approximately 160 miles per hour.
However, the Jintang Tunnel is part of the larger Ningbo Zhou Railway, which is 77 miles long and designed for speeds of up to 255 miles per hour. If that happens, the Ningbo Shukan will become the world’s longest high-speed railway tunnel with an undersea section.
This will enable rail travel between Zhoushan Island, China’s third largest island, and China’s east coast.
