Site of the commencement ceremony for the Zhengzhou-Fuyang section of the Zhengzhou-Hefei High-speed Railway, held on Dec 24 [Photo by Ruan Haifeng / hnr.cn]

Construction site of the Zhengzhou-Fuyang section of the Zhengzhou-Hefei High-speed Railway [Photo by Ruan Haifeng / hnr.cn]

Construction of the Zhengzhou-Fuyang section of the Zhengzhou-Hefei High-speed Railway started on Dec 24.

The Zhengzhou-Hefei High-speed Railway (Zhengzhou-Fuyang section) is expected to open to traffic in 2019. Its length will be 277 kilometers and its design speed will be 350 kilometers per hour. It will have 11 stations in total and eight will be in Henan province, namely Zhengzhou South, Xuchang North, Yanling South, Fugou South, Xihua East, Zhoukou East, Xiangcheng North and Shenqiu North. The other three, Jieshou South, Linquan and Fuyang West, will be in Anhui province.

The Xihua-Zhoukou section is the first to start construction. It will be about 18.88 kilometers long, and will enter service by the end of 2019. After its completion, it will only take 40 minutes to travel from Zhoukou to Zhengzhou, about 2 hours to Hefei, 3 hours to Beijing and around 4 hours to Hangzhou.

The Zhengzhou-Hefei High-speed Railway is an important part of Henan's railway network. It will provide great convenience for passengers and enhance the status of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, as a railway pivot.

Edited by Peter Nordlinger