Shaanxi High-speed Rail Network Enriched as Baoji-Lanzhou High-speed Rail Line Opens
To witness the high-speed railway construction of Xi'an, a key city in the "Belt and Road" economic belt, xinhuanet.com brings you to have a bird-view over Xi’anbei Railway Station, Xi'an Multiple Unit Train Depot and Baojinan Railway Station via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), experiencing a different high-speed railway hub from air. The bird-view leads us to see how Shaanxi fully follows the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, and how Shaanxi connects high speed rails of northwest region to the national high speed rail network by taking "Great Xi’an" as the center. The picture above shows Xi'anbei Railway Station taken by UAV.
“I had to spend 7 or 8 hours on the train from Xi'an to Lanzhou, but now, I only need 3 hours. Journey becomes easier!” Auntie Guo, 67, told the reporter cheerfully as she took the high-speed train from Xi'an to Lanzhou for the first time on July 20, 2017.
“I live in Xi'an, and I come over to Lanzhou to visit my aunt by this high speed train. As the train runs so fast, I may drop in on her in weekend”, said Auntie Guo. The picture shows D2657, a Xi'an-Lanzhou high speed train, is ready to leave from Xi'anbei Railway Station.
At 8:00, July 9, 2017, D2657, the first Xi'an-Lanzhou multiple unit train, rolled out of Xi'anbei Railway Station, signifying the formal operation of the high speed train from Baoji to Lanzhou. As Baoji-Lanzhou rail completes “the last mile” of Xuzhou-Lanzhou high speed line, the operation time from Baoji to Lanzhou has been reduced from 7 hours to 2 hours, greatly shortened the space-time distance between northwest China and east & middle regions of this country.
“It's a long and hard journey for me before the Baoji-Lanzhou train was put into operation.” Chen Peiyong, who just arrived in Xi'an from Bangkok by air, was about to go home by D2657.
Previously, after flying to Xi'an, Mr. Chen recalled, he had to take the flight or the train of the next day to go home. Now, however, the high speed train only takes 3 hours to bring him home as he arrived in Xi'an by air.
As Baoji-Lanzhou high speed rail runs into operation, Xi'an, a hinterland city, has 4 high speed rails covering Zhengzhou-Xi'an, Datong-Xi'an, Xi'an-Baoji and Baoji-Lanzhou. In its long and medium railway planning, Xi'an was listed by China as one of the 8 international traffic hubs, radiating to Zhengzhou, Datong, Baoji, Lanzhou, Chengdu, Yinchuan, Yan'an, Wuhan and Chongqing. Xi'an serves as a converging hub for N-S transportation lines including Baotou-Fangchenggang and Beijing-Kunming, and E-W lines including Fuzhou-Yinchuan and land-bridge service line. Taking Xi'an as center, China's high speed rail network takes a star-shape to all places across the country. Years later, Xi'an will be a high speed rail hub that has the largest number of lines to provincial capital cities and covers the biggest area. The picture shows a steward is serving the passengers on D2657 train.
As the last project completing the overall high speed rail network construction in China, the open of Baoji-Lanzhou line makes the “high-speed rail road”, which connects major cities of Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining and Urumqi, to replace the ancient Silk Road.
Today, the train saves 15 hours to run from Xi'an to Urumqi, with the new capacity of carrying 50 million passengers more each year. Meanwhile, as the high speed rain from Xi'an to Urumqi has been opened, more passengers will take this new and fast one, allowing more ordinary trains to freight transportation. As a result, the transport capacity of Eurasian land-bridge line is also improved, promoting the fast development of the Silk Road economic belt. The picture above shows Baojinan Railway Station taken by UAV.
High speed train D2657 sets children book corner for kids to enjoy cartoons and idiom stories. The books are regularly refreshed to ensure children gain more on the journey.
On July 21, 2017, G853, a high speed train from Xi'an to Lanzhou, is about to leave.
A bird view on Xi'an Multiple Unit Train Depot
A bird view on Xi'an Multiple Unit Train Depot
Provided by Xi'an Bureau of Railways
