High-speed, high-tech rail links Winter Olympics cities

BEIJING: The high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the co-host city of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, has gone into operation, the China State Railway Group Co Ltd said.

With 5G signals, wireless charging and intelligent lighting, the smart train G8811 departed from Beijing North Railway Station at around 8.30am to Zhangjiakou in the north’s Hebei Province.

The railway is 174km long, with 10 stations along the line.

With a maximum design speed of 350kph, it will reduce the travel time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou from over three hours to 47 minutes, facilitating inter-city traffic and crucial for the co-host of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Chongli railway, a branch line of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway, also went into service yesterday.

It is 53km long, with a maximum design speed of 250kph.

Yang Yang, a Winter Olympic champion and chairwoman of the Athletes’ Commission of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, was among passengers on the high-speed train G8811.

Yang said the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway is important to the preparation of the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“It can improve the efficiency of our work, promote China’s winter sports, and boost the ice and snow economy.”

Construction of the high-speed railway lasted around four years. The railway underwent test runs earlier this month.

The length of China’s railroad lines in service has exceeded 139,000km, including 35,000km of high-speed rail, ranking first in the world. — Xinhua