CHINA Railway (CR) has commenced trial operation with passengers on the new 125km Hangzhou - Chizhou high-speed line.
The line runs from Yixian County East station in Huangshan City to Chizhou station. Construction on the line began in December 2019 and tracklaying was completed in September 2023. It is expected to officially open at the end of April.
The line has four stations, including new stations at Jiuhuashan and Huangshan West. It connects with the Ning’an high-speed railway at Chizhou and the Huangchang section of the Huangchan high-speed line at Yixian East.
Notable features include the 921.6m Taiping Lake Superior Bridge, which spans the lake and CR says is the longest multi-tower, partial cable stayed bridge on the Chinese railway network. It says the design complements the natural surroundings of the green lake and green mountains. In addition, Haungshan West station is described as incorporating Huangshan cultural icons into its design, including pine trees, “a sea of clouds,” hot springs and strange rocks as well as tea, which is grown extensively in the region.
The line has a design speed of 350km/h and once fully operational will offer improved connectivity to prime tourist locations such as Jihua Mountain, Huangshuan and Taiping Lake, as well as support the acceleration of construction of the Southern Anhui International Cultural Tourism Demonstration Zone.
Line testing commenced in January and up to March 25, CR says 838 test trains of various types have operated on the line, covering 42,700km and reaching a top speed of 385km/h.
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