On June 20, as the Xiangyangdong-Wanzhoubei Section of Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR opened to traffic, another express passenger corridor in southwest China was put into operation, cutting the travel duration from Beijing to Chongqing and Zhengzhou to Chongqing to only 6h46min and 4h23min respectively, and making the Central Henan Urban Agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle better connected.
Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR starts from Zhengzhou city, Henan province in the north and ends at Chongqing municipality in the south, passing through Henan, Hubei and Chongqing, extending 1,068 kilometers. The Chongqingbei-Wanzhoubei Section, with a design speed of up to 250 km/h, opened to traffic on November 28, 2016 and operates at 210 km/h. It is expected to operate at 250 km/h after the whole Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR is completed. The Zhengzhoudong-Xiangyangdong Section, with a design speed of up to 350 km/h, opened to traffic on December 1, 2019 and operates at 310 km/h. The just opened Xiangyangdong-Wanzhoubei Section, totaling 434 kilometers, has a design speed of up to 350 km/h and will operate at 310 km/h. It runs through Xiangyang and Yichang in Hubei, Enshi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture and Wushan county, Fengjie county, Yunyang county and Wanzhou district in Chongqing, and has 10 stations including Xiangyangdong, Nanzhang, Baokangxian, Shennongjia, Xingshan, Badong, Wushan, Fengjie, Yunyang and Wanzhoubei.
The Xiangyangdong-Wanzhoubei Section of Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR is located in the western Hubei province and the eastern mountainous area of Chongqing municipality. It runs through mountains such as Qinba Mountain, Wushan Mountain and Qiyue Mountain, crosses rivers such as Hanjiang River, Daning River and Meixi River, and passes the Shennongjia Primitive Forest Zone and many nature reserves. Since it passes so many high mountains and deep valleys, its bridges and tunnels account for 98% of the total route length. The complex topographical and geomorphological conditions, as well as frequent geological disasters such as karst and landslide, raised high requirements for environmental protection and water and soil conservation. Since the construction was commenced in December 2015, CHINA RAILWAY has organized the contractors to take all measures possible and overcome various difficulties, to ensure quality and efficient construction. Total 91 bridges and 57 tunnels were built, including a number of super long bridges, e.g. the Double-track Super Long Bridge on Meixi River in Fengjie and Lianghekou Double-track Super Long Bridge in Baokang, as well as long tunnels, e.g. the Small Three Gorges Tunnel and Xinhua Tunnel. Joint efforts from all involved parties ensured the construction progress of the project.
CHINA RAILWAY meticulously organized competent units to make preparations before the official opening in strict compliance with relevant regulations and standards, e.g., integrated commissioning & test, testing & inspection before acceptance, safety assessment of all professional equipment, and comprehensive optimization and adjustment of the track facilities, pantograph- catenary performance, train control, communication & signaling, etc.. Up to now, this project has fulfilled all requirements and conditions for safe and stable operation.
The whole Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR will adopt different train operation schedules for regular hours, peak hours and weekends, and the Xiangyangdong-Wanzhoubei Section will see up to 106 EMU trains in operation for a single day. Through EMU trains will be operated from cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Wuhan to Chongqing, and the shortest travel duration of 6h46min, 4h23min and 4h57min will be achieved from Beijing, Zhengzhou and Wuhan to Chongqing respectively.
As an important part of China’s HSR network of eight North-South corridors and eight East-West corridors, Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR stands as another express passenger corridor in southwest China, connecting many famous tourist attractions, e.g. Shaolin Temple on Mount Songshan, Ancient Longzhong in Xiangyang, the Shennongjia Primitive Forest Zone, Baidi City in Fengjie and Wushan Three Gorges and Small Three Gorges. The operation of this HSR will further improve railway network structure in central and southwest China, greatly facilitate the travel of people along the railway, promote the development of tourism resources and industries, unlock the freight transport capacity of Xiangyang-Chongqing conventional railway, and promote regional logistics. It is of great significance in accelerating the development of the Central Henan Urban Agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.
According to CR, tickets for Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR are already on sale. For detailed information on train numbers, timetables, etc., please follow the updates on the WeChat official account of CHINA RAILWAY and 12306 website, APP and WeChat official account.
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