High-speed train projects inject vitality into nation
A train arrives at or leaves Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station every 1.4 minutes, and every day more than 300,000 passengers pass through the station.
One can get around quickly by getting on a high-speed train from here: It only takes 45 minutes to get to Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, around one hour to Nanjing, Jiangsu province, a little over two hours to Hefei, Anhui province, and less than five hours to Beijing.
The busy scene at the station during the National Day holiday epitomizes the results of the large-scale construction of the nation’s highspeed railway system over the past two decades.
The system, which is expected to span 39,000 kilometers across the country by the end of this year, has accelerated exchanges between regions, boosted the economy and made travel more convenient.
The Beijing-Shanghai highspeed rail service, which began operating in 2011, is the busiest in the nation. It has transported more Feng and her colleagues now than 1.18 billion passengers, make 12 round trips between Shangimproving ties between cities in the hai to Beijing every month, serving Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the more than 20,000 passengers. Yangtze River Delta. For Guo Yizhou, who lives in
For Feng Sheng, who joined the Wuxi, Jiangsu province, and works China Railway Shanghai Group in in Shanghai, the high-speed train is 2010 and has been a train attendant his choice for daily commuting. for the Beijing-Shanghai line ever When Guo was sent by his comsince, the high-speed rail has pany to work in its Shanghai always been a subject of pride. branch in 2015, Guo bought an
The 30-year-old recalled her first apartment near Wuxi East Railway trips with the high-speed train HeStation. Every morning, Guo xie (Harmony) between Beijing and arrives at the station to catch the Shanghai, which started operation G1509 train, which leaves at 7:59 on June 30, 2011, and runs at a am for Shanghai. The ticket costs speed of 300 kilometers per hour. 49.5 yuan ($7).
“You could feel the excitement in “I usually have my breakfast durthe air,” she said. “Many people who ing the half-hour ride. After I get off had no reason to go to Beijing came the train, I transfer to metro Line to take the train just to experience 10, which is very convenient at the speed.” Hongqiao railway station, and get
Six years later, when the 350 to my company before 9:30 am,” km/h Fuxing (Rejuvenation), the Guo said. “The commuting time is country’s fastest train, debuted on the same as that of my Shanghai the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed colleagues.” rail on Jun 26, 2017, Feng experiThe mobility of talent enabled by enced celebrity status as one of the the high-speed rail has contributed first people to travel on it. to the innovation of the local econo
“There were train fans askingmy.me for signatures,” she recalled. Tu Jiangping, a professor of materials science and engineering of Zhejiang University, has been busy commuting between Zaozhuang, Shandong province, and Suzhou, Jiangsu province, to work on his project — a nonliquid lithium battery — which will soon undergo testing in Zaozhuang.
“I normally deal with miscellaneous matters during the 2.5-hour ride, and when I arrive, I can start my work at once,” said Tu, who has brought his team to the Zaozhuang National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, located near the city’s high-speed railway station.
Wang Guangbu, Party chief of the development zone, said high-speed rail service has helped create economic opportunities.
“The high-speed rail has reduced the distance between the first-tier cities and third- and fourth-tier cities like Zaozhuang,” Wang said. “Many experts would like to bring their industrialization projects to the latter, thanks to the convenience of transportation. The flow of high-speed trains has been bringing us a flow of talent.”