Chongqing- Construction has begun on a new high-speed railway linking southwestern China's two major metropolitan cities, Chongqing and Chengdu, reducing the travel time to less than one hour, according to the national railway operator China State Railway Group on November 28.
Adding a new high-speed rail line to the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, the Second Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway, also known as the Chengdu-Chongqing Middle Line High-speed Railway, starts from Chongqing North Railway Station, heading to Chengdu East Railway westward, through Yubei District, Shapingba District, Bishan District, Tongliang District, Dazu district in Chongqing Municipality, and Ziyang, Chengdu in Sichuan Province.
With about 292 kilometers of mainline and 350 km/h of designed speed, the Second Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway has eight stations in total, including Chongqing North Railway Station, Western (Chongqing) Science City, Tongliang, Dazu Rock Carvings, Anyue, Lezhi, Jianzhou, and Chengdu.
In addition to the stations of Chongqing and Chengdu, the others six stations are new ones.
A picture of the Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway. (Photo/ China Railway Group)
Currently, there are three railways connecting Chengdu and Chongqing, including Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, Chengdu-Suining-Chongqing Railway, and Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway. The construction of the Second Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, serving as the fourth channel connecting Chengdu and Chongqing.
After its completion, the Second Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway will be connected with other rail lines like Xi'an-Chengdu high-speed Railway, Zhengzhou-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, etc., which will improve the road network structure in the Chengdu-Chongqing region.
In addition to the domestic transportation projects, Chengdu and Chongqing joined hands in international transport cooperation. In 2021, Chengdu and Chongqing jointly departed over 4,800 China-Europe Railway Express, accounting for 30% of that of China. The region reported 1737.45 billion yuan of total import and export volume.
The China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) exceeded 20,000 on June 30, 2022. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Furthermore, the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) is moving ahead in the Chengdu-Chongqing region. On November 16, the China-Laos Railway (Dazhou-Vientiane) international freight train started from Dazhou, Sichuan, heading to Luang Prabang and Vientiane, Laos, via Chongqing and Yunnan.
This train facilitates the effective assembly of goods from the eastern Sichuan-Chongqing in Dazhou, shortening the freight time by 3-4 days and radiating to Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, and other countries and regions.
Experts said that the transportation infrastructure plays an essential role in boosting the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, a new economic growth zone in western China.
According to the national plan, Sichuan and Chongqing will work together to build an integrated, comprehensive transportation system in Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and coordinate medium- and special long-term plans for railways, highways, water transportation, civil aviation, and postal services.
(Tan Jingyue, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)