At nearly 10,000 km, China’s HSR network is already the world’s biggest. Here’s a look at some of the better-known lines in the network. We’ll begin with a look at all lines designed for speeds over 300 km/h.
BEIJING-TIANJIN INTERCITY RAILWAY (京津城际铁路)
This is China’s very first HSR line built for speeds exceeding 300 km/h. It presently runs at this speed, although its designed speed is a bit faster (at 350 km/h). By far one of the most popular intercity HSRs, this route links Beijingers to their fellow neighbours in Tianjin in just about half an hour. Some trains continue the journey down to Tanggu, just by the sea. The route is expected to extend further southeast to Tianjin’s new Yujiapu Finance Hub in the Binhai New Area, and will feature a link to Tianjin’s Binhai International Airport. Completion of this stretch is slated for around 2012.
BEIJING-SHANGHAI HIGH SPEED RAILWAY (京沪高速铁路)
China’s showpiece HSR, this crucially important HSR link connects the Chinese capital with the largest and most internationalized metropolis on the Chinese mainland. Designed for speeds up to 380 km/h (which will be reached in a few years), the Beijing-Shanghai HSR finishes the run in less than 5 hours for direct trains (slower trains will just take an extra 30 minutes). This HSR will also feature connections in future to linkage HSR routes to the eventual Beijing-Harbin HSR and the Beijing-Hefei HSR.
BEIJING-HONG KONG HIGH SPEED RAILWAY (WUHAN-SHENZHEN) (京港高速铁路武广段及广深段)
Presently known “solely” as the Wuhan-Guangzhou HSR (武广高速铁路), this used to be China’s longest HSR. It links Wuhan, heart of China’s 1911 revolution that overthrew the dynasties, to Guangzhou, southern China’s biggest city. In late 2011, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen HSR opened. The Beijing-Wuhan stretch opens in late 2012; by 2015 or 2016, Hong Kong will be served by this very HSR line. Top speed is optimized for 350 km/h, although present-day trains run at a “mere” 300 km/h.
SHANGHAI-NANJING INTERCITY HIGH SPEED RAILWAY (沪宁城际高速铁路)
The Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity HSR is a 300 km/h route linking Shanghai with Nanjing and major cities in the area. Rather than offering nonstop services (which is what the nearby Beijing-Shanghai HSR does), this line focuses more on the cities of Kunshan, Suzhou, Wuxi and Danyang, to list a few metropolises in the vicinity.
SHANGHAI-HANGZHOU HIGH SPEED RAILWAY (沪杭高速铁路)
The Shanghai-Hangzhou HSR forms part of the future southeastern coast HSR. This stretch is optimized for speeds up to 350 km/h (present day trains run at 300 km/h) and links Shanghai to Hangzhou within an hour. It also calls at Haining, which is packed just after mid-autumn festival as the waves come rolling in, in an annual event.
ZHENGZHOU-XI’AN HIGH SPEED RAILWAY (郑西高速铁路)
Western and central China’s first HSR route, this 300+ km/h line links Zhengzhou, seat of government for He’nan province, with Luoyang (one of China’s great ancient capitals) and Xi’an (where it all started in 221 BC, when China became unified under Qin Shihuang’s dynasty). This HSR is slated in the long term to expand to Xuzhou in the east and Lanzhou and ultimately Xinjiang in the west.
COMING SOON…
The following high speed routes (all designed for speeds above 300 km/h) are expected to open by 2015 (latest):
- Harbin-Dalian High Speed Railway (哈大高速铁路) (Mid-2012 for Dalian-Shenyang)
- Hangzhou-Ningbo High Speed Railway (杭甬高速铁路)
- Hangzhou-Nanjing Intercity Railway (杭宁城际铁路) (Mid-2012)
- Tianjin-Qinhuangdao High Speed Railway (津秦高速铁路)
- Shanghai-Kunming High Speed Railway (沪昆高速铁路)
The following high speed routes (300+ km/h) are projected, and will open later:
- Beijing-Shenyang High Speed Railway (京沈高速铁路)
- Beijing-Tangshan Intercity Railway (京唐城际铁路)
Note that the Chinese HSR world continues to grow at a breakneck pace. This page is but a sampler of things to come; you are looking at merely a partial list of the bigger map.