Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway

Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway line or Daxi HSR (simplified Chinese: 大西客运专线; traditional Chinese: 大西客運專線; pinyin: Dà–Xī kèyùn zhuānxiàn) is a dual-track, electrified, high-speed rail line operated by China Railway High-Speed between Datong, Shanxi and Xi'an, Shaanxi. It has a length of 859 km (534 mi) through the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi Province, traversing the north-south axis of the former, and will accommodate trains traveling at speeds up to 250 km/h (160 mph).[1] Travel time between the two terminal cities will be reduced from 16.5 hours to about three hours.[2] Construction began on 3 December 2009[3] and was expected to cost ¥96.3 billion.[2] The line was scheduled to be completed by 2013[2] or 2014.[1]

Datong–Xi'an high-speed railway line 大西客运专线
Datong–Xian Passenger Dedicated Railway Line
Overview
Other name(s)	Daxi Passenger Dedicated Line
Type	High-speed rail
System	China Railway
Status	In operation (partly)
Locale	Shanxi, Shaanxi
Termini	Datong South Xi'an North
Operation
Operator(s)	China Railway High-speed
Technical
Line length	859 km (534 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV AC
Operating speed	200 km/h (120 mph) (Datong–Yuanping) 250 km/h (160 mph) (Yuanping–Xi'an)
Signalling	Automatic block
Route map km elev Dazhang HSR from Zhangjiakou Jining–Datong HSR from Ulanqab (proposed) Datong South start of Hanyuan railway Huairen East Yingxian West Sanyin South Shuozhou East Daixian West Fanjiazhuang crossing loop end of Hanyuan railway Yuanping West proposed Xiongxin HSR to Xiong'an Xinzhou West Yangqu West high-speed line main line to Datong and Jingbao Railway to Beijing North and Baotou Xijianhe crossing loop Shitai HSR from Shijiazhuang Taiyuan East Taiyuan main line high-speed line Taiyuan South Taizhongyin Railway to Zhongwei, Yinchuan Xinmingli Tongpu Railway to Huashan Jinzhong Taigu West Qixian East Pingyaogucheng Jiexiu East Lingshi East Huozhou East Hongdong West Linfen West Xiangfen West Houma West Wenxi West Yuncheng North Yongji North Taiyuan Group Xi'an Group Jinshan Yellow River Bridge Dali Zhengxi HSR from Zhengzhou East Weinan North Wanli crossing loop Lintong East Xi'an North Yinxi HSR to Yinchuan Xicheng HST to Chengdu East Xibao HSR to Baoji South

The Taiyuan-Xi'an section of the railway was opened on July 1, 2014; the Taiyuan-Yuanping section was opened on September 28, 2018; and the Datong-Yuanping section is currently not newly constructed but using quadtuple tracks of North Tongpu Line between Yuanping West and Huairen East. Such service commenced on May 1, 2019.[4]

Route

The high speed rail line will run down the length of Shanxi Province from Datong in the north through Shuozhou, Xinzhou, the provincial capital Taiyuan, Jinzhong, Linfen and Yuncheng. It crosses the Yellow River at Yongji, enter Shaanxi and reach Xian via Weinan and Lintong.[1] As of early 2020 most of the high-speed line is finished, but the section between Huairen East and Yuanping West runs on the 153 kilometre-long Hanjialing–Yuanping railway, a four-track section of the Datong–Puzhou railway. The third and fourth tracks were built for passenger traffic with a design speed of 160 kilometres per hour and were opened on 29 March 2014. A new section of high-speed line, the Datong–Yuanping high-speed railway, is being built to replace it. Another short section of main line runs through Taiyuan East and Taiyuan.

The whole line now forms part of the Beijing–Kunming passageway of the 8+8 HSR Grid, now under development. The section between Xi'an and Xinzhou (where the proposed Xiong'an–Xinzhou high-speed railway—Xiongxin HSR—would branch off to Xiong'an) forms part of its main line, while the section between Xinzhou and Datong forms part of the Beijing–Zhangjiakou–Datong–Taiyuan branch.

Together with the Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan high-speed railway, the Taiyuan-Xi'an section of the Datong–Xi'an passenger railway provides a potential more direct route for high-speed passenger trains between Beijing and Xi'an (and points west) than the usual route via Zhengzhou (1092 km via Taiyuan vs. 1212 km). However, as of early 2015, this route appears to be slower than the one via Zhengzhou, and does not seem to be used by any direct Beijing-Xi'an trains. Instead, some services run from Beijing via Taiyuan to the southwestern Shanxi (mostly Yuncheng), while others run between Taiyuan and Xi'an.

History

• 3 December 2009: Construction commenced.[3]
• 29 October 2010: Construction commenced on entire Shaanxi section.[2]

Notes

1. "大同至西安铁路客运专线开建 运行时间仅约3小时". 中国新闻网 (in Chinese). 29 October 2010.
2. "大西高铁陕西段全面开工(图)". 华商报 (in Chinese). 30 October 2010 – via Sina News.
3. "西安五年后4小时抵京5小时到沪高铁将直达乌市". 华商报 (in Chinese). 29 January 2010 – via Sohu news.
4. 大西高铁怀仁东至太原南段五一开通. 生活晨报 (in Chinese). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.