China has opened four new high-speed railway lines totalling more than 1,100 kilometres. The new links connect Xiong’an with Shangqiu, Xi’an with Ankang, Yichang with Xingshan and Harbin with Yichun, in the north, northwest, centre and northeast of the country.
The longest, between Xiong’an, south of Beijing, and Shangqiu, is 552 kilometres long. Thanks to it, the city of Hengshui now has direct high-speed trains to Beijing for the first time. The Harbin–Yichun line has become the country’s northernmost, and Yichun West station is now China’s northernmost high-speed station.
The lines opened in time for the National Day holiday and have already changed routines: one worker quoted by Xinhua now makes the trip to his hometown in two hours, a journey that used to take four to five.
National plans foresee China’s high-speed network, already the world’s largest, reaching 70,000 kilometres by 2035.
