A New High-Speed Railway between Chengdu and Guiyang Opens

Chengdu691Dec 16, 2019

On Dec. 16, 2019, a new high-speed rail line linking Chengdu and Guiyang in southwestern China is officially in service. The earliest train C6041 departs from Chengdu East for Guiyang North at 6:58 am, which marks the completion of the full-line operation for the high-speed railway connecting two big tourist delights, giant pandas and ethnic minority tribes.

On Dec. 16, 2019, a new high-speed rail line linking Chengdu and Guiyang in southwestern China is officially in service. The earliest train C6041 departs from Chengdu East for Guiyang North at 6:58 am, which marks the completion of the full-line operation for the high-speed railway connecting two big tourist delights, giant pandas and ethnic minority tribes.

In the initial period, China State Railway Group will launch 20 round trips between these two provincial capitals, and it will increase to 44 round trips on a routine schedule and even more during travel peak seasons.

The 648-kilometer line costs more than CNY78 billion (USD11.2 billion), which greatly minimizes the travel time to about 3 hours between Chengdu and Guiyang, with a designated speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

The new Chengdu-Guiyang railway in Southwest China is a critical section of Lanzhou (Xining)-Guangzhou line, which is one of China's eight vertical and eight horizontal major high-speed railway network. The new high-speed railway has 24 stops across Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province and Guizhou Province, climbing from Sichuan Basin to Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau with an altitude gap of 2,000 meters.

The opening of the railway line would bring more development opportunities to the poverty-stricken areas in southwest China. It is also regarded one of the most scenic rail lines in China, connecting a lot of incredible natural wonders and cultural sights, such as giant pandas, Leshan Giant Buddha, Huangguoshu Waterfall, Zhijin Karst Caves and fabulous minorities of Miao and Buyi. Tourists could take advantage of the highspeed trains to discover more hidden gems that used to be unknown by outsiders.