At 15:00 on August 28th, in Meizhou, Guangdong, the longest tunnel of the Meilong high-speed railway, Xiahuangtian Tunnel, constructed by China Railway 25th Bureau, was completed, marking the completion of all 52 tunnels along the line, laying a solid foundation for the scheduled opening and operation of the Meilong high-speed railway. The main line of the Meilong high-speed railway is approximately 93.98 kilometers long and is the first fully invested 350 kilometer per hour high-speed railway project in Guangdong Province. It is also a major project that promotes close connection between Meizhou, Heyuan, and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. The line starts from Meizhou West Station of Meishan High Speed Railway, passes through Meixian District, Xingning City, Wuhua County, and Longchuan County of Heyuan City along the way, and finally reaches Longchuan West Station of Ganshen High Speed Railway. As the longest tunnel and control project along the entire line, the Xiahuangtian Tunnel has a total length of 7377 meters and a maximum burial depth of 290 meters. The tunnel passes through multiple geological fracture zones and karst strongly developed zones in mountainous areas, with abundant groundwater, complex geological conditions, high construction difficulty, and high safety risks. It is the "throat" project of the entire high-speed railway construction. Since the start of construction, the builders have adopted the methods of "long tunnel and short excavation" and inclined shaft excavation, with multi-point construction and collaborative operations. We have increased the main tunnel from two working faces to four by adding inclined shafts, which has doubled the construction efficiency. After the high-speed railway is put into operation, the inclined shaft will continue to be used as an emergency and rescue channel, "said the project leader of the Meilong high-speed railway section 4 of China Railway 25th Bureau. It is reported that after the completion and opening of the Meilong high-speed railway, the travel time from Meizhou to cities in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen, will be reduced from 6 hours to 1.5 hours. This is of great significance for accelerating the construction of high-speed railway channels between the Pearl River Delta, eastern Guangdong, Meizhou, and Heyuan, improving the layout of the high-speed railway network in Guangdong Province, and promoting regional economic development. (New News Agency)