Test run begins on China's northernmost high-speed railway

A worker carries out surveying work at the construction site of Suihua South Station of the Harbin-Yichun high-speed railway in Suihua, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, March 13, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Tao)

HARBIN, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A high-speed railway traversing a permafrost zone in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province entered trial operation on Thursday, bringing the country's northernmost bullet-train line one step closer to official service.

A test train departed Harbin, the provincial capital, at 7:40 a.m. and arrived in the forest city of Yichun two hours and two minutes later.

According to China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd., the trial run comprehensively verifies train scheduling, arrivals and departures, service frequency, passenger facilities and system compatibility to provide a scientific basis for the official opening of the railway.

With a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the 318-km line will slash travel time between Harbin and Yichun from about seven hours to just two hours once it becomes operational.

Heilongjiang, long known as one of China's traditional industrial powerhouses built on steel, machinery and oil, is now pivoting toward new growth drivers. The new railway is expected to play a key role in the province's comprehensive revitalization, while boosting tourism and the development of its ecological assets.

Running through the alpine permafrost zone, the track has been designed with numerous bridges, which together account for 72 percent of the total length of this railway section.