At 10:31 of April 12, a Chongqing West Ring Railway (C6014) train departed from the Chongqing Xi (West) Railway Station. It will run about eight hours through such railway stations as Yongchuandong, Neijiangbei, Chengdu South, Meishandong, Leshan, Yibinxi, Bijie, Guiyangbei, Zunyi, and Qijiangdong and return to its departure station at 18:35.

At 10:31 of April 12, a Chongqing West Ring Railway (C6014) train departs from the Chongqing Xi (West) Railway Station. (Photo by Li Ye)

The driver Su Liangtao said the C6014 train would stop at 12 stations on Chengdu-Chongqing High-speed Railway, Chengdu-Guiyang High-speed Railway, and Chongqing-Guiyang Railway. Its maximum speed will change among 300 km/h, 250 km/h, and 200km/h based on actual road conditions.

Passengers take a Chongqing West Ring Railway (C6014) train departs from the Chongqing Xi (West) Railway Station on April 12, 2020. (Photo by Li Ye)

One C6014 train runs every day, with first-class seats, second-class seats and standing tickets available. The ticket prices vary in different destinations. For example, the second-class seat is priced from 23 yuan to 539 yuan.

“The number of passengers grows from the Chengdu South Railway Station and peaks during the journey from Zunyi Railway Station to Chongqing Xi (West) Railway Station, estimated to exceed 430.” According to Conductor Han Jitong, the majority of the passengers of this train are people in business. However, as it runs through tourism cities, including Meishan, Leshan, and Zunyi, tourists will become the main force. “Stewards are learning Mandarin and English, and even the sign language. We hope they can introduce landscapes along the route to passengers,” said Han.

The train has benefited many people. Mr. Xing, a businessman, working on construction materials, has already ridden the C6014 train. He often drives back and forth between Chongqing and Leshan. “It takes at least four hours to drive to Leshan. If riding the train, I had to transfer to Chengdu, which was inconvenient.” Mr. Xing said it only took two hours and 40 minutes for him to visit the other city by train directly. “The convenient transportation allows me to expand my business to Guizhou.”