Page 7 - TunnelTalk Annual Review 2015

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With construction of the first package of the central section of California’s new 700km high speed rail program between San Francisco and Los Angeles under way, and with procurement for the second and third packages (CP2 and CP3) completed, and five teams prequalified for construction of CP4, high speed rail (HSR) is making an appearance in the USA. As the multi- billion dollar California project develops incrementally between now and 2029, and with rail operator Amtrak keen to develop high speed rail in the busy northeastern corridors, a new survey reveals that Americans are ready to embrace HSR.
A survey released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) predicts that passenger demand for HSR will come – if it is built.
According to the survey, if HSR were available today, two-thirds (63%) of Americans said they would be likely to use it. This jumps to 70% when respondents are informed of the costs and time saving benefits.
“People want high-speed rail in America and we are seeing support among various ages and in different regions of the country, regardless of political affiliation,” said APTA President and CEO Michael Melaniphy. “It is critical that we include implementation of high speed rail as we look to plan for the nation’s future transportation needs.”
Respondents in the key 18–44 age group expressed a strong likelihood of using HSR (71%) when told that HSR would be less expensive than flying. When told it will take less time than driving, this figure jumped to 76%.
“A high speed rail network will have a tremendous benefit to our entire transportation system as we face a dramatic population growth that adds
At 50.3km long, the Yulhyeon Tunnel on the Suseo High Speed Railway in Korea is the third longest railway tunnel in the world, after the 57km Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland and the 54km Seikan Tunnel in Japan. Excavation was completed in three years and five months.
At a grand ceremony in June 2015, Government officials and senior managers of the Korea Rail Network Authority celebrated final excavation and completion of initial support of the single tube, double
Fig 1. Plan of the 50.3km long rail tunnel
Global connections Passenger demand exists for
US high speed rail
Fig 1. Global high speed rail networks planned by 2025
more travelers than our current capacity can accommodate,” said Melaniphy.
The United States lags well behind other countries for its size in the development of HSR (Fig 1). n
References
• Governor signs California HSR funding bill – TunnelTalk, July 2012
• China opens world’s longest high speed railway – TunnelTalk, December 2012
• Hong Kong begins massive express link to China – TunnelTalk, March 2011
• Finding a formula to deliver high speed rail in Brazil – TunnelTalk, February 2013
• UK HS2 begins civil procurement prequalification – TunnelTalk,
September 2014
• Acciona/Ghella selected for Norway Follo Line TBM tunnel – TunnelTalk, March 2015
• Progressing the Lyon- Turin high speed rail link – TunnelTalk, August 2013
• Brenner Baseline
high speed rail design considerations – TunnelTalk, February 2008
• Herrenknecht EPBM for Stuttgart-21 high speed link – TunnelTalk, August 2013
Above: California high speed rail construction packages 1-5, Fresno- Bakersfield
Korea’s record rail link
track tunnel towards a planned opening of train services in July 2017.
The long Yulhyeon Tunnel accounts for 82% of the entire length of the 61.1km Suseo high speed railway line to connect Seoul to Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi-do Province (Fig 1).
The new link is a vital element in Korea’s ‘half-day life zone’ plan by which people can reach any point in South Korea from any other point in the country in less than half a day.
Excavation of the double track tunnel, with a 107m2 cross section began in January 2012 using mostly drill+blast and NATM excavation methods. Civil excavation works within the total project construction cost of approximately US$3 billion, were let as 12 construction lots to 10 prime South Korean tunnel contractors.
Excavation was completed in a total 21 headings advanced from access adits at every 2-3km of the main tunnel length, each adit providing at least two tunnel headings. Ventilation shafts are located at about 3km intervals along the main tunnel alignment. The rail alignment runs mostly beneath a low mountainous area and there are no cities or
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urban areas above. In zones of soft ground, a pilot tunnel with a center pillar and double arch NATM excavation to full cross section was utilized to control ground deformations.
The total excavation period, including access adits and ventilation shafts, was a swift three years and five months from January 2012 to June 2015. Once completed and in service, the journey time through the Yulhyeon Tunnel will be about 14 minutes at an average 240km/hour. n
Centre pillar, double-arched excavation
Planned full alignment of California HSR
www.TunnelTalk.com TunnelTalk AnnuAl Review 2015
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