The line adds two intermediate stations at Pazhihua South and Pioneer Camp. Three return services will operate on the line every day to Kunming, with two departing from Panzhihua and the other from Panzhihua South offering a journey time of 2h 8min. Tickets are priced at Yuan 117 ($US 16.90) for first class and Yuan 73 for standard class.
The line is set to be served by 160km/h CR200J EMUs, known as “The Hulk” for the train’s distinctive green livery. Nine-car trains have capacity for 720 passengers. The 250km/h trains were built by the Bombardier-Sifang Transportation joint venture.
The project is the latest section of the 860km Chengdu-Kunming Railway Capacity Expansion Project to open. The Chengdu - Emei (131km), Yongren - Guangtong (120km) and Guangtong - Kunming (106km) sections have been completed and are open to traffic. The Emei - Miyi (378km) and Miyi - Panzhihua (94km) sections remain under construction.
The complete double-track line is expected to open in 2023 and offer a journey time between the two termini of less than 3 hours. The project will relieve capacity on the existing Chengdu - Kunming railway for freight traffic between the two cities. The journey time on this line is around 5.5 hours.
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