A key achievement in China Railway’s (CR) quest to open another 2000km of high-speed lines to reach 50,000km this year is the completion of the 242km Chongqing East - Qianjiang line, which has a maximum speed of 350km/h and opened on June 27.
The project included the construction of the 28-platform Chongqing East station which took just over three years to complete. The station building has four floors and occupies an area of 120,000m2. Passengers can transfer between medium and long-distance high-speed services, the city’s commuter ring line and metro network.
On June 28, a testing and commissioning train crossed the Hanjiang Grand Bridge near Yicheng on the 350km/h Xiangyang - Jingmen line which is expected to open in October this year. The journey time between Xiangyang and Jingmen will be cut to just 30 minutes.
Tracklaying was completed on July 1 on the 350km/h Xi'an - Yan'an line. The 300km double-track railway passes through difficult terrain with bridges and tunnels accounting for 91% of the entire line. Together with the under-construction 739km Xi'an - Chongqing line, which will also have a maximum speed of 350km/h, it will form a major north-south corridor.
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