At around 5 a.m. on December 29, the final roof slab of the main structure of Section II of the Suzhou South Station pre-embedded works of the Shuixiang Tourism Line intercity railway was poured, marking the full topping-out of the main structure of the Suzhou South Station pre-embedded works project.

The Shuixiang Tourism Line intercity railway is an important component of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway. It starts from Shanghai Shuixiang Living Room Station, passes through Suzhou South Station and shares the line with the Rutong-Suhu intercity railway to Nanxun Station, and terminates at Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport Station. As the starting point of the Jiangsu section of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing intercity railway and the Shuixiang Tourism Line, Suzhou South Station, together with Shanghai Qingpu Xincheng Station and Zhejiang Jiaxing South Station, broke ground simultaneously on July 13, 2022, with the pre-embedded works of the Shuixiang Tourism Line launched first.

Gu Xiaohui, manager of the project management department of Suzhou Intercity Railway Company, introduced that the Shuixiang Tourism Line intercity railway crosses the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou railway and the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo railway at a 45-degree angle. As the ** underground station on the Shuixiang Tourism Line intercity railway, the Suzhou South intercity railway station is located beneath the national railway Suzhou South Station and shares the station in parallel with the under-construction Suzhou Rail Transit Line 10. The pre-embedded works project is located on the second underground floor of Suzhou South Station and includes the civil engineering main structure of the Shuixiang Tourism Line intercity railway and the Line 10 station, with a total length of 538.1 meters and a standard section width of 45.3 meters. The construction scope includes foundation pit works, station main structure works and structural waterproofing, and is carried out in two sections, respectively undertaken by China Railway 14th Bureau Group and China Railway 3rd Bureau Group.

As a comprehensive transportation hub, Suzhou South Station has numerous cross-construction projects on site. Since the start of the pre-embedded works project, Suzhou Intercity Railway Company has organized scientifically, made overall arrangements and coordinated fully, strengthened control of key milestones, and successfully resolved difficulties in safety management, transportation organization, and schedule arrangement caused by the numerous cross-construction projects of multiple units on site, advancing construction progress in an orderly manner while ensuring safety and quality.

Among these, deformation control of the ultra-wide foundation pit was a major difficulty in construction. According to reports, the foundation pit width of a typical station is about 21 meters, while the standard section of the pre-embedded works is as wide as 45.3 meters. During construction, the main structure enclosure adopted the method of "diaphragm wall + double combined steel supports + axial force servo system" to remotely monitor foundation pit deformation data, with real-time alarms and timely adjustment in case of any fault, enhancing the safety and stability of the overall foundation pit, especially the crossing section with the national railway bridge, and providing solid technical safety guarantees for ultra-wide foundation pit construction.

The topping-out of the main structure of the pre-embedded works project this time provides support for the implementation of the Suzhou South Station underground space project and the national railway station building. Among them, the Suzhou South Station underground space project is a supporting project of the Fenhu Station transportation hub, located at the intersection of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou railway and the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo railway, and together with the high-speed railway station building forms a hexagonal architectural shape. It is scheduled to be completed in mid-March next year. The national railway station building is scheduled to be completed by the end of July next year.