Shijiazhuang–Wuhan high-speed railway

The Shijiazhuang–Wuhan high-speed railway, or Shiwu passenger railway (simplified Chinese: 石武客运专线; traditional Chinese: 石武客運專線; pinyin: Shíwǔ Kèyùn Zhuān Xiàn), is an 840 km (520 mi) high-speed rail line operated by China Railway High-speed between Shijiazhuang and Wuhan, the provincial capitals of Hebei and Hubei, respectively. Construction commenced in October 2008, with a total investment of 116.76 billion yuan. The design speed is 350 km/h (220 mph). It is part of the Jingguang passenger-dedicated line, a high-speed railway connecting Beijing and Guangzhou, which runs parallel to the older conventional Jingguang Railway.

Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway Shijiazhuang–Wuhan section 京广深港高速铁路石武段
Overview
Type	High-speed rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Hebei, Henan, Hubei
Termini	Shijiazhuang railway station Wuhan railway station Hankou railway station
Stations	16
Operation
Operator(s)	China Railway High-speed
Technical
Line length	840 km (522 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC
Operating speed	350 km/h (220 mph)
Route map Beijing–Shijiazhuang HSR to Beijing West, Fengtai Beijing–Guangzhou railway to Fengtai Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan HSR to Taiyuan Beijing–Guangzhou railway to Guangzhou Gaoyi West Xingtai East Yulin River Bridge Handan East Zhang Zhuangqi River Bridge Anyang East Hebi East Xinxiang East Zhengxin Yellow River Bridge to Zhengzhou–Xuzhou HSR to Xuzhou East to Zhengzhou–Kaifeng ICR to Songchenglu Zhengzhou East Longhai railway to Zhengzhou, Lanzhou to Zhengzhou–Xi'an HSR to Xi'an North Erlangmiao depot Xinzheng East Xuchang East Luohe West Zhumadian West Minggang East Xinyang East Xiaogan North to Hefei–Wuhan HSR to Hefei South Hengdian East to Shekou–Wuhan railway to Hankou and Chengdu East to Shekou–Wuhan railway to Shekou Yangtze River Bridge 1189 km Wuhan to Wuhan–Jiujiang railway to Lushan to Wuhan South Loop Line to Wuchang Wuhan–Guangzhou HSR to Guangzhou South

The railway crosses the Yangtze in Wuhan over the Tianxingzhou Bridge, which was opened in December 2009.

Track-laying commenced on 29 November 2010.[1]

Early on, it was reported that the Zhengzhou-Wuhan section was to enter service on 1 July 2012;[2] however, later on the date was moved back to the end of September 2012.[3] Trial runs on this section began on 26 August.[4] The line was put into service on 28 September 2012 between Zhengzhou and Wuhan,[5] a distance of 536 km (333 mi).

As of its opening day, published schedules show a number of G-series trains running from the new Zhengzhou East railway station via Wuhan to Guangzhou.[6][7] There are also some G-series trains from Wuhan to Zhengzhou railway station, where a convenient connection to the frequent service on the Zhengzhou–Xi'an high-speed railway is possible. A few direct trains from Xi'an North railway station to Guangzhou South and Shenzhen North (e.g. G824/G821 via Zhengzhou[8] or G838/G835 via Zhengzhou East[9]), over the Zhengzhou–Xi'an high-speed railway and the Shijiazhiuang-Wuhan-Guangzhou line, have been introduced as well.[6][7]

The entire Shijiazhuang–Wuhan line was put into service by the end of 2012.[3]

Although the railway's southern end point is notionally Wuhan railway station, a small number of high-speed trains from Beijing terminate at Hankou railway station instead. This is convenient for trains to transfer to the Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu high-speed railway, e.g. for passengers traveling toward Yichang, Chongqing or Chengdu.

References

1. http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2010-11/29/content_1755671.htm
2. http://www.f-paper.com/?i1222691-Beijing-Guangzhou-high-speed-rail-will-be-two-to-eight-hours-across-the-board-through-the-end-of-this-year-up-to
3. 石武客专郑州至武汉段高铁试跑 预计9月底通车. 2012-06-23.
4. "High-speed rail to shorten travel time between Shenzhen & Zhengzhou". What's On Shenzhen. 2012-08-29. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
5. http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/asia/china-opens-zhengzhou-–-wuhan-high-speed-line.html?channel=542
6. Wuhan Station schedule (in Chinese)
7. Zhengzhou East Station schedule (in Chinese)
8. G824/G821 schedule, via Zhengzhou (in Chinese)
9. G838/G835 schedule, via Zhengzhou East