As China advances further in urbanization, a new generation of urban rail transits with medium-and-low capacity such as suspended monorail, straddle-type monorail, and medium-and-low speed maglev rail are progressively taking the center stage of urban transportation.

Lately, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) subsidiaries have finished the installation of the last track beam of the 02 bidding section of Liuzhou Public Transportation Project, moving the project into the final stage of construction.

Making inroads into urban rail transits with medium-and-low capacity

Stretching 6.36 kilometers with a total number of 493 track beams, it is a demonstration project in the sense of both technology exploration and experience accumulation, and one of CSCEC’s many new ventures in the realm of straddle-type monorail.

A pioneer in straddle-type rail system

The project was modeled after the Bombardier monorail with beams simultaneously serving as supporting structure and the guideway. The maximum permissible error is only 3 millimeters. The curved beams take on a slender structure, with post-pouring belts framed by steel plates and bars, using the construction technique of converting simply-supported beams into continuous beams - the first of its kind in China.

Four lane track beams

Installation of track beams

Technical innovations reaped from partnering industry with academia

The project team made many breakthroughs and innovations in the hoisting and installation of track beams, yielding a number of new techniques and equipment such as the second generation of feed-through hoist, beam adjustment mechanism, strengthened adjustable support, new type of tri-directional lifting jack, and oil pump system with higher stability. The team has applied for 42 patents, of which 27 are for inventions, cementing CSCEC’s core competitiveness in the field.