(Yicai) May 15 -- Two major high-speed railway lines in Central and West China have entered acceptance checks and trial operations and are expected to begin service this year, a move that will for the first time directly connect three major inland city clusters through 350-kilometer-per-hour rail links.

The Yichang-Xingshan section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railway and the Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway will close key gaps in the region’s rail network, allowing the Guanzhong Plain, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Chengdu-Chongqing city clusters to become directly connected, several regional economic experts told Yicai.

The Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railway stretches about 2,100 kilometers between Shanghai, Chongqing, and Chengdu in Sichuan province. The line is designed for speeds of 350 kilometers per hour, with some sections reserved for future operations at 400 kilometers per hour. Total investment is estimated at about CNY593 billion (USD87.2 billion).

The new rail links are expected to improve regional integration, shorten travel times, and strengthen industrial coordination across Central and West China.

Travel Times to Be Sharply Reduced

The Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railway, which runs 257 kilometers from Xi’an in Shaanxi province to Shiyan in Hubei province through the Qinling Mountains, will cut travel time between the two cities from about six hours on conventional trains to around one hour after opening.

Travel time between Xi’an and Wuhan will also be reduced from about five hours by existing high-speed rail services to less than three hours, as trains will no longer need to detour through Zhengzhou. The project is expected to significantly reduce travel barriers between Northwest and Central China.

The Yichang-Xingshan section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railway runs 109 kilometers between Yichang and Xingshan in Hubei province. After opening, travel time between the two cities will be shortened from about two hours to 20 minutes, while the journey from Yichang to Chongqing will be reduced to within three hours.

Yao Shujie, director of the Li Anmin Institute of Economic Research at Liaoning University, told Yicai that inadequate transportation infrastructure has long been the main bottleneck limiting coordinated development among the Xi’an, Wuhan, and Chengdu-Chongqing city clusters.

The opening of the two high-speed railways has fundamentally broken down geographical barriers and infrastructure deficiencies, and established an efficient and convenient one-to-four-hour commuting circle among the three city clusters, Yao said.

Rail Expansion to Boost Industrial Integration

“The most crucial breakthroughs of the Yichang-Xingshan and Xi’an-Shiyan high-speed railways are to connect dead-end routes, eliminate speed gaps, and overcome geographical barriers,” Qin Zunwen, vice president of the China Society of Urban Economy, told Yicai.

The projects will allow the middle reaches of the Yellow River to connect more closely with the Hanjiang Ecological Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, transforming Central and West China from an “inland hinterland” into an “open frontier,” Qin added.

“Xi’an’s advantages in scientific research, military industry, and aerospace technology can deepen industrial innovation synergy with Wuhan’s optoelectronics, high-end equipment, and biomedicine industries,” Lin Fei, vice president of the Anhui Association of Development Studies, told Yicai.

Meanwhile, the manufacturing industries of the lower-tier cities of Shiyan and Xiangyang can become more deeply integrated into the industrial chain system of the Wuhan metropolitan area, Lin added.

Editor: Emmi Laine