CONSTRUCTION is underway on new high-speed lines between Chongqing and Chengdu, and Chongqing and X’ian as China continues its march towards completing a 75,000km high-speed network by 2035.
The 292km Chongqing - Chengdu high-speed line will have eight stations. It will be built for a design speed of 400km/h, enabling trains to operate at up to 350km/h, offering a journey time of less than an hour.
The line will be the fourth railway between the two cities and upon completion in 2027 will be the country’s “fastest and most advanced high-speed railway,” according to local media reports. The line will connect with multiple high-speed lines, including the Xi'an - Chengdu and Zhengzhou - Chongqing lines, improving the national railway network in the southwest. China Railway is responsible for overseeing the project.
The first 505km railway opened in 1952 and offers a 13-hour journey time between the two cities. It was the first new railway to be constructed in China following the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949. It was followed by a 200km/h line in 2006, offering a 4h 30min journey time, which was successfully upgraded in 2013 to cut journey times to 2 hours. A third high-speed line offering a journey time of opened in 2015. An increase in top line speeds to 350km/h in 2020 reduced the journey time to 62 minutes.
Chongqing - X’ian
Work has also commenced on the 478km Chongqing - Ankang section of the 739km Chongqing - X’ian high-speed line.
The 350km/h will reduce journey times between the two western Chinese cities to less than three hours. Work is expected to be completed in 2028.
Construction on the Ankang - X’ian section commenced last year and is expected to take five years to complete.
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