The construction of the Western Algeria railway mining line made further progress last week with the sleeper plant built by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) beginning operations in Hassi Hebbi, Tindouf Province. It represents the first time that Chinese-designed railway sleeper solutions have been used in a local heavy-duty railway project.
The railway is a key project under the Belt and Road Initiative, and represents the largest project undertaken by Chinese companies in Algeria in recent years. The 575-kilometer railway project, which will link the Bechar and Tindouf provinces and serve the Gara Djebilet iron ore mine, is being jointly developed by CRCC and COSIDER TP, an Algerian state-owned enterprise. Once completed, the railway will significantly enhance Algeria's national rail network, improving connectivity between mining areas, industrial zones and ports, as well as supporting the economic development of the southwest of the country.
The new sleeper plant is the first standardized concrete railway sleeper factory in the Sahara Desert region. Covering an area of 91,000 square meters, the plant is tasked with producing 1.2 million railway sleepers for the project.
To ensure track stability and durability, the project team incorporated innovative design features, such as waist-thinning in the sleeper’s middle section and sand-drainage holes. These improved sleeper designs have been approved by Algeria's National Railway Investment Design and Implementation Supervision Administration and will be used throughout the entire line.
Adapting to the local Eurocode system, CRCC has conducted extensive research on critical rail technologies, blending Chinese heavy-haul railway track bed standards and domestic rail materials into the project’s technical framework.
This will help establish a comprehensive heavy-haul railway track technology system, promoting “Made in China” products on the global market.
(Executive editor: Zhu Zeya)
