New train schedule sees more lines, faster speeds

The national railway network will adopt a new train schedule starting June 20, with new lines opening and current lines increasing their speed, China State Railway Group said on Wednesday.

At that time, bullet trains will be operated at the increased maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour along the high-speed railway line linking Beijing and Wuhan, Hubei province—part of the railway linking Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

That will cut travel time between Beijing and Wuhan to 3 hours and 48 minutes, an improvement of half an hour. The Beijing-Guangzhou HSR is one of China's major high-speed railway corridors linking the north and south of the country. The sped-up services will benefit many travelers.

A total of 57 trains will be operated at the accelerated speed, reaching a dozen provinces and passing through many cities. It will cut the travel time between Beijing and many provincial capitals, such as Shijiazhuang of Hebei province, Zhengzhou of Henan province, Changsha of Hunan province, Xi'an of Shaanxi province, Nanchang of Jiangxi province, Chengdu of Sichuan province and Guiyang of Guizhou province.

The opening of new lines will boost regional socioeconomic development and benefit passengers, including the full operation of the Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR, the high-speed railway linking Zhengzhou and Puyang in Henan and Hotan-Ruoqiang railway in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

With the full operation of the Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR, it will cut travel time between Beijing and Chongqing to less than 7 hours, nearly five hours shorter. It will also cut travel time in the city cluster of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Central China and the Chengdu-Chongqing area.

The opening of the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway brings railway services to some new places in southern Xinjiang and is also the world's first railway loop circling a desert. The rebuilt Beijing Fengtai Railway Station will be open and provide service on the new schedule, handling high-speed and regular train services departing and arriving in the capital.

More freight trains will be operated under the new schedule, ensuring stable supply chains for goods such as coal for power production, epidemic control material and agricultural products.

The new schedule will also optimize cross-border freight train services, operating a steady number of freight trains between China and Europe, China and Laos and along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to the west. Service quality will also be improved, operating more Fuxing bullet trains and adopting silent carriages along the Beijing-Guangzhou HSR.

It will also optimize the process of arranging freight train services, improving transport efficiency and reducing logistics costs.