Wuhan-Shiyan express railway to start construction this year

The Wuhan-Shiyan express railway is in its first phase of preparations, and construction work will begin by the end of the year,?Hubei Daily reports citing?an official from the engineering headquarters of Hubei province’s major projects office.

At present, there are only six round-trip trains from Wuhan to Shiyan daily, and it takes four hours for a one-way trip. Neither the capacity nor the speed of the train meet customer needs. Once the Wuhan-Shiyan express railway is completed, the journey will be shortened to two hours and the number of daily trips will increase. Meanwhile, cities along the rail line will have easy excess to Wuhan’s Tianhe Airport.

A sketch map of the Wuhan-Shiyan express railway[Photo/wudangshan.gov.cn]

The opening of the express rail will bring a new economic vitality to the cities along it, as they will enjoy easier access to Wuhan. Take tourism, for example. The express railway will connect many famous scenic spots including the Wudang Mountains, Ancient Longzhong and the Huanghe Building, whose income put together accounts for 70 percent of the province’s tourism revenue. The new rail line will further boost their popularity.

Wuhan-Shiyan is an important part of the Wuhan-Xi’an express railway. It starts from Xiaogan East Station (connecting to Wuhan through the Wuhan-Xiaogan intercity rail) and ends in Shiyan Station, going through Yunmeng, Anlu, the Wudang Mountains, and seven other stations in-between.

The Wuhan- Shiyan section is 388.8 kilometers long and will be built to travel at speeds of over 250 kilometers per hour. Total investment in the rail will amount to around 53.6 billion yuan ($8.9 billion).

Edited by Noelle Mateer