The final T-beam was successfully positioned on February 5 at 23:18, marking the completion of the full-section T-beam installation for the Mao Ping Port Rail Link at the Three Gorges Hub. This achievement represents a critical breakthrough in the project, laying the foundation for subsequent track-laying work.
Located in Yichang City, Hubei Province, the Mao Ping Port Rail Link extends from the western end of Yichang South Station on the Yiwan Railway to Mao Ping Port in Zigui County, spanning a total length of 39.59 kilometers. It is a nationally designated key project and China’s first freight railway designed to support cargo transshipment around the Three Gorges Dam.
The project passes through mountainous terrain with deep valleys and complex topography, featuring a bridge-tunnel ratio as high as 89%. A total of 698 T-beams across 10 different models were installed, crossing 13 tunnels and 29 bridges. Construction faced numerous high-risk challenges, including high-pier beam erection, beam installation on curves with a radius as small as 300 meters, and operations adjacent to existing railway lines, making coordination and execution particularly difficult.
In response to these challenges, China Railway Third Bureau Group Co., Ltd., the contractor, actively adopted smart management solutions. By introducing an informatized cloud platform for bridge erection machines and utilizing 5G and IoT technologies, the team achieved real-time dynamic monitoring throughout the entire process—from T-beam transport and installation to final positioning. This approach enhanced safety protocols while enabling a peak installation rate of 12 beams per day, ensuring efficient construction under complex conditions and meeting the beam installation milestone as scheduled.
Once operational, the Mao Ping Port Rail Link will serve as essential infrastructure within the Three Gorges logistics hub’s intermodal transport system. It will connect to the Hanyi, Yayi, and Jiaoliu railway lines, extending service to southwestern Hubei, the Jianghan Plain, and northern Hunan. The project is expected to improve the Three Gorges comprehensive transport network, establish a new intermodal transport pattern, significantly reduce logistics costs, enhance transport efficiency, and alleviate pressure on Yangtze River shipping.