The Yinchuan-Xi'an high-speed railway, China's longest ballasted high-speed railway built in a continuous construction period, opened to traffic on Dec 26.
Starting from Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and terminating at Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province, the 617-kilometer railway has a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour and will be able to support trains with a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour in the future.
Travel time between the two capital cities is now shortened to three hours.
The railway will improve the high-speed railway network in Northwest China and is expected to play a role in promoting China's western development drive, boosting regional economic and social development and accelerating Belt and Road construction.
The first high-speed railway to connect old revolutionary base areas in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia, it will also help their revitalization.
It is also a major part of the railway linking Baotou in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Haikou in South China's Hainan Province.
The railway was independently designed by China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC). Several CRCC subsidiaries participated in its construction.
A view of the No. 2 Mogu River Grand Bridge of the Yinchuan-Xi'an high-speed railway in Shaanxi Province [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Yinchuan-Xi'an high-speed railway opens to traffic on Dec 26. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
A view of the bridge over Yellow River, linking Yinchuan Hedong International Airport in Ningxia and south Yinchuan [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
