An interior view of the "Linghang" large diameter shield tunneling machine is seen at the construction site of the Chongming-Taicang tunnel, part of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu High-Speed Railway, under the Yangtze River, on December 16, 2025. Photo: Xinhua News Agency

China’s independently-developed world’s largest-diameter high-speed rail shield machine, the “Linghang” (Navigator) for the Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel — which connects Shanghai’s Chongming district with Taicang, East China’s Jiangsu Province –has successfully underpassed the Yangtze River. The breakthrough marks the completion of the under-river section of the Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

This high-speed rail shield machine, resembling a steel dragon, completed a single-headed excavation of 11.325 kilometers, setting a global record for the longest continuous under-rivercrossing by a 15-meter-class large-diameter shield machine, according to a report by news portal thepaper.cn on Thursday. 

Once the Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel is completed and put into operation, it will end the history of Chongming Island, China’s third-largest island, being without high-speed rail access. Also, it will enable high-speed trains to cross the Yangtze River without decelerating, significantly enhancing the capacity of the river-crossing corridor. And it will also take only 17 minutesfor a high-speed train journey from Chongming via Taicang to Shanghai Baoshan Station, according to media reports.

The Chongtai Yangtze River Tunnel is a key section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu High-Speed Railway, and its construction holds great significance for promoting the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and improving China’s high-speed rail network, according to a post on China Railway.

Global Times