Tianjin Grand Bridge, Railway bridge between Tianjin and Hebei, China
The Tianjin Grand Bridge (Langfang–Qingxian viaduct) is a railway viaduct on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, running between Langfang and Qingxian over about 113.7 kilometers. Its flat deck is carried on rows of thick cylindrical concrete piers, with a red-brown steel truss section between two piers near one end and overhead catenary masts and wires along the span. It is built from 32-meter box girders weighing 860 tons each.
Construction began in 2008 as part of the national high-speed rail network and was completed within three years. The opening in 2011 marked a turning point in Chinese railway expansion and allowed much shorter travel times between the economic centers in the eastern part of the country.
The bridge takes its name from Tianjin even though its span runs between Langfang and Qingxian, both in Hebei. Its Chinese name, Tianjin Grand Bridge (天津特大桥), is the one carried on the green rectangular signs mounted on poles at the bridge base. The structure belongs to the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, and passengers cross it without stopping.
The structure is exclusively for train traffic and not accessible to pedestrians, so it can only be seen from passing trains. Those traveling the route between Beijing and Shanghai usually pass these sections without stopping and experience the landscape through the windows of the high-speed train.
The length makes this structure one of the most extended railway viaducts in the world and surpasses many other major projects in the history of bridge engineering. Despite its size, the journey is often barely noticed because trains cross the entire length in a few minutes and the landscape appears uniform.
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