In the past 2018, a total of 4,683 km (2,910 mi) railways have been newly opened and about 4,100 km (2,550 mi) of them are high speed railways. As thus, China’s total railways have reached around 131,000 km (81,400 mi) and more than 29,000 km (18,000 mi) of them are high speed railways.
Rail Lines Opened in 2018
In 2018, a lot of rail lines including Hong Kong section of
Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Hong Kong high speed railway,
Hangzhou - Huangshan, Harbin - Mudanjiang,
Jinan - Qingdao and Harbin - Jiamusi opened in succession and they have helped release the traffic pressure during this 2019
Spring Festival travel rush. The new railways greatly cut the travel time among different cities and offer great convenience for homeward tourists during
Chinese New Year. In 2019, there will be more railways going to open.
Rail Lines to Open in 2019
Chengdu-Guiyang High Speed Railway
This is the first mountainous high speed railway in China and even in the world. It is expected to open by the end of 2019. The railway stretches around 632.6 km (393 mi) and connects
Sichuan,
Yunnan,
Guizhou three provinces. The designed speed is 250km/h (155 mph) and the travel time between
Chengdu and
Guiyang will be shortened to 3 hours.
Beijing - Shenyang High Speed Railway
It started to be built in 2014 and will be operated in 2019. The whole distance of the railway is about 680 km (423 mi) and the design speed is 350 km/h (217 mph). There are 21 stations along the way include Beijing Station, Chengde South Station, and Chaoyang Station. Once opened, the travel time between
Shenyang and
Beijing will be cut to 2.5 hours from 4.5 hours.
Wuhan - Shiyan High Speed Railway
The overall distance of the railway is 399 km (248 mi) and it connects several famous scenic areas in Hubei Province like
Wudang Mountains and
Yellow Crane Tower. The designed speed is about 350 km/h (217 mph) and the travel time between two cities will be decreased to 2 hours.
Zhengzhou-Wanzhou High Speed Railway
The high speed railway connects totally 13 cities including Yuzhou, Fangcheng, Nanyang, Xiangyang and Baokang. It is also one section of the Zhengzhou - Chongqing high speed railway. It stretches around 818 km (508 mi) and the designed speed is 350 km/h (217 mph).