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Footage of very loud Hokkaido Shinkansen tunnel blast delights the public【Video】

Krista Rogers Sep 1, 2022
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It turns out that the Internet really likes watching stuff get blown up.

While the West Kyushu Shinkansen to Nagasaki prepares for its grand opening in less than a month, construction continues steadily on the JR Hokkaido Shinkansen far to the north. The bullet train currently ends at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station in Hakodate, but plans to extend the track by approximately 212 kilometers (131.7 miles) to Sapporo are expected to be completed by the end of 2030.

▼ A typical vista of Hokkaido’s natural scenery

Since Hokkaido still boasts plenty of unspoiled wilderness, it’s perhaps no surprise that laying down new track in certain areas is requiring a bit more manpower than in other places of the country. In fact, it’s estimated that approximately 80 percent of the new track will be in tunnels. To that end, the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency (JRTT), the entity constructing the new line, shared a special one-minute glimpse into exactly how they’re able to create those tunnels through the mountains.

▼ SOUND WARNING: Lower your volume prior to watching. There’s a countdown from 10 [in Japanese] before the blast.

＼発破！／

山岳地帯のトンネルを掘り進めるには、爆薬を用いて岩盤を発破する手法と機械により岩盤を掘削する手法があります。

今回は #北海道新幹線のトンネル工事において、爆薬を用いて岩盤を発破する迫力ある瞬間を動画に収めましたのでご覧ください！

⚠️大きな音が出ます！音量注意！⚠️ pic.twitter.com/BvHUzHkP8r

— JRTT鉄道・運輸機構 (@JRTT_PR) August 24, 2022

“KABOOM!

In order to create tunnels in mountainous areas, there are techniques to blow up the bedrock by using explosives and also by means of machines.

This time, while constructing a tunnel for the Hokkaido Shinkansen, we captured a video of the forceful moment when the bedrock exploded. Please enjoy!

CAUTION: There will be a loud sound. Please lower your volume.”

Deafening as the blast itself is, the subsequent shaking of the camera as the dust settles also points to the immensity of its sheer destructive power.

Japanese net users couldn’t get enough of the video, leaving fascinated comments such as the following:

“It’s like a scene from a movie…”
“I guess the siren’s to warn people of the danger of falling rock?”
“It was so much louder than expected that I burst out laughing.”
“I wonder how much progress they make with one blast…?”
“That impact should be enough to make a truck’s windshield glass shatter.”

While it’s cool to watch the explosion from the safety of being behind a computer screen, we’re glad we weren’t there to witness it in person. We’d prefer tp keep filling our ears with other loud sounds during the remaining days of summer instead.

Source: Twitter/@JRTT_PR via ITmedia Inc.
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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