Crucial section connects high-speed network in east with central, western parts

Workers dismantle old tracks at Caogusi circuit station of Zhengzhou Railway Signal Depot in Zhengzhou, capital of Central China's Henan province, on August 3, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

An important interconnecting section of the country's high-speed railway network has been completed in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan province, on Wednesday.

Constructors worked hard overnight from Tuesday to complete a key joining facility of the section to link the high-speed railways from Beijing to Guangzhou, Xuzhou to Xi'an, and Zhengzhou to Kaifeng.

The completion of the section will allow the high-speed railways in the country's eastern part to connect with the lines in the central and western parts.

Zhengzhou has an important position in the country's high-speed railways network, according to the country's medium- and long-term railway network plan that was published earlier this year.

The plan said that China expects to have 38,000 km of high speed railway by 2025. By 2015, China had 19,000 km high-speed railways.

The high-speed railway line connecting Beijing in the north and Guangzhou in the south meets with the line connecting Lanzhou in the west and Xuzhou in the east in Zhengzhou, making the city the most special one in the country's network.

Currently, more than 120 high-speed trains pass Zhengzhou, said Feng Dexian, head of the Institute of Geographical Science under Henan Academy of Sciences. More than 30 cities are in a three-hour economic circle around the city, he said.

The interconnecting section outside Zhengzhou East Railway Station will allow high-speed trains to pass the station without stopping, which will significantly improve the capacity of the network, experts said.

The section is also an important part of the high-speed railway from Zhengzhou to Xuzhou, which will be put into operation in September. The Zhengzhou-Xuzhou railway is part of the line from Lanzhou to Xuzhou.