China may further expand its high-speed rail network by building a line between Inner Mongolia, an autonomous Chinese region and Hainan province. Chinese railway experts have begun talks on building a record-breaking high-speed rail that would connect Inner Mongolia in the north to Hainan in the south.
The railway project aims to improve accessibility and mobility of the region by providing additional railway capacity and reducing transport time for passengers and freight.
The projected line is likely to break ground during the period of the five-year national development plan 2016-2020, said Zhang Jiangyu, former deputy director of the Planning and Research Center of the General Transportation Institute, under the National Development and Reform Commission.
The Shaanxi Development and Reform Commission convened after a meeting on December last to discuss the project, which will connect Baotou in Inner Mongolia and Haikou on the southern island province of Hainan, passing through Xi’an of Shaanxi province.
An official of the Shaanxi Development and Reform Commission revealed that the projected rail will be a dedicated passenger line boasting travel speeds of 350 km/h.
According to the Government of the province the new railway will connect with a number of existing high-speed lines, including Xuzhou-Lanzhou, Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu, Shanghai-Kunming, and Guiyang-Guangzhou rails, as well as many renowned tourist sites.
Currently, China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network, which includes a 2,298-kilometer line linking Beijing and Guangzhou.
Though the exact length of the proposed route has not been yet reveales, it will likely become the world’s longest high-speed rail line, breaking the record already held by China, as the journey by road between Baotou and Haikou is approximately 3,000 kilometers.
The proposed rail is part of China’s aim to create a “Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century” and coincides with initiatives to improve the country’s comprehensive transportation network while driving land development and urbanization in seven provincial areas.
According to the CAREC program (Central Asia regional Economic Cooperation), China will receive a USD 200 million loan from the World Bank to help finance construction of the Zhangjiakou– Hohhot (ZhangHu) Railway in Inner Mongolia.
In accordance with the data provided by the CAREC program, the railway will ease capacity on the existing line for international freight traffic to and from neighboring Mongolia, as well as for more general and containerized rail freight that will assist in diversifying Inner Mongolia’s economy.
by Elena Ilie
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