CHINA celebrated the opening of the remaining 307km Nanning - Libo section of the 482km Nanning - Guiyang Guinan High Speed Railway on August 31.
The inaugural Fuxing EMU departed Nanning East station at 07.33, continuing for 1h 12min to Huanjiang.
China Railways (CR) opened the initial 175km Libo - Guiyang section of the new railway on August 8.
The Nanning - Guiyang high-speed line is an important part of China’s network of eight vertical and eight horizontal high-speed lines, forming part of the north-south corridor from Baotou, Yinchuan, to Haikou.
The line has 13 stations, including six on the Guiyang - Libo section. Construction of the railway began in December 2017.
CR expects to offer a mix of daily, weekend and peak services during the initial period of operation. This will see a maximum of 56 trains operated on the line every day, including direct trains from Nanning to Guiyang, Chengdu and Chongqing among other cities.
Opening of the new 350km/h line has reduced journey times from Nanning East to Guiyang East from more than five hours to a maximum of 2h 53min. The fastest journey time from Nanning East to Chengdu East is now 6h 51min, and 5h 17min to Chongqing West.
The new railway serves regions populated by more than 30 ethnic groups and the line will provide much improved rail connectivity in southern and southwest China, helping to accelerate the development of tourism and other industries.
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