After the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the working people, led by the Communist Party of China, finished the project of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway in only two years.

The 505-km railway was rated as the first miracle in the construction history of the PRC as its construction marks the beginning of the country's economic recovery.

In March 1950, the Southwest Railway Engineering Bureau (now China Railway No.2 Engineering Group Co., Ltd.) was established at Jialing New Village in Chongqing. In April, the first group of engineers went to the construction site and re-surveyed Chengdu-Chongqing Railway according to the ministerial standards issued by the Ministry of Railways (now defunct). The construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Railway started successively in June.

Sun Yisun, a builder of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway at that time, is already 89 years old this year. He still remembers the situation on the day of commencement of construction, taking them two years to build this railway.

"Serving as adviser then, I labored every morning and coordinated relevant work in the afternoon," said Sun. He recalled that there was no large machinery for railway construction at the time so they had to use steel chisels, hammers and self-made explosives.

As more than one million sleepers were needed for the railway tracks, people in Sichuan actively made a donation. Those who lived along the railway donated precious woods like camphor trees and nanmu and some seniors even sawed their own coffins into sleepers and sent them to the construction site. Besides, some farmers donated wood without leaving their names or collecting money.

Where were the steel bars from for the railway?

At that time, the 29th Arsenal (later renamed as No. 101 Factory and now Chongqing Iron and Steel Co., Ltd.) was the only factory with steel bar production capacity, with technicians and workers united to overcome difficulties and hardships. They drove the rolling mills, roll lathes and other equipment with an 8,000-horsepower steam engine purchased from the UK.

After several months of repeated tests and explorations, China's first heavy rail with a length of 12.5 m was made, which ensured that Chengdu-Chongqing Railway was totally made in China from steel rails to bolts.

Two-year construction

The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway was officially opened to traffic on July 1, 1952.

"On that day, a total of more than 80,000 people lined up from Chengdubei Railway Station Square to Renmin North Road. They applauded and cheered in unison when the train whistle sounded," said Sun Yisun who witnessed the opening of the railway from the rostrum of the opening ceremony with a camera in his hand.

"A total of 30,000 ordnance factory workers and 100,000 migrant workers partook in the railway construction," said Luo Zhiyun, a 100-year-old builder who engaged in the process of building the railway. He thinks that the completion of the railway should be credited to the concerted efforts and selfless devotion of soldiers and civilians.

"The construction of the railway also demonstrates the elder generation's respect for knowledge and talent," said Ai Xinquan, former Deputy Inspector of the Party History Research Office of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee.

During the construction, Deng Xiaoping called for "efforts to master railway building technology, follow the guidance of technical personnel, boldly delegate power to experts, and offer them the best possible pay package."

The Southwest Railway Engineering Bureau (former China Railway No.2 Engineering Group Co., Ltd.) retained all the engineers and technicians in the old railway engineering organizations, and some of the experts and technical personnel even held leading positions at all levels.

At the invitation of Deng Xiaoping, Chen Xiuhe, an ordnance expert, wrote a proposal for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway and recommended more than 70 scientists and engineers who had studied in Germany, Japan, and the US to form the main technical force for the construction of the railway.

Efficient commuting

Upon its completion, the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway greatly prospered the economy along the line and met the production and living needs of the people along the line. It changed the political, economic, and transportation landscapes of Southwest China, especially Chengdu and Chongqing, and lifted the curtain of China's economic recovery.

Now with the launch of CRH trains and high-speed railways, the distance between Chengdu and Chongqing is further shortened to only a one-hour journey.

Starting from June 25th, China Railway Group announced that the national railways will implement the train operation chart for the third quarter of this year. The Fuxing Intelligent EMU was expanded to Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed trains, meaning the Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed rail will soon officially launch the Fuxing Intelligent EMU.