8 years of hard work, 2000km Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Railway finally opens on 28th December 2016

[JSCh]

 

[TaiShang]

Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line in full operation
(Xinhua) December 28, 2016



A bullet train is seen at the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)



The G4136 train leaves the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)



A bullet train is seen at the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)



The G4136 train is ready to leave the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)



A bullet train is seen at the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

People celebrate at the Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. The Guiyang-Kunming section of Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway was put into operation on Wednesday, marking that the whole Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway line is in full operation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

 

[MULUBJA]

We understood that. However, your might misunderstand him - he might not make the comment directly to India. In Australia we all know the long - planned Sydney to Melbourne HSR can only become reality in 2040 if it can be started now. That is still a big if considering it is still under the feasibility stage of many years. So 28 years is a very correct statement in this case.

Definately it is a big achievement.

 

[RISING SUN]

High-Speed Rail Service to Kunming Ready to Roll

A bullet train travels across Anshun, Guizhou province, on Thursday. The railway is part of the 2,252-km high-speed rail line that will link Kunming in southwestern China with Shanghai on the east coast in January. Photo: IC

High-speed rail service to the southwestern city of Kunming will begin on Wednesday, adding scenic and mountainous Yunnan province to the nation’s growing bullet-train network. Service will initially connect Kunming with the nearby cities of Guiyang and Changsha, and be expanded to the larger cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the first half of January. Trips on the 2,252-km line between Shanghai and Kunming will reduce travel times to just over 11 hours, compared with the previous 34 hours. The line will be the longest east-west corridor in China’s growing high-speed rail network, and cost more than 300 billion yuan ($43 billion). From Shanghai the line will pass through Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces before reaching Yunnan, which borders Myanmar. The line will be able to handle 30 million passengers per year initially. Tickets are expected to sell for a starting price of 800 to 900 yuan.

I have started dreaming from some last few years that there is a direct connection between Kunming & Chengdu to Arunanchal and onwards, Lhasa to Bengal via Sikkim, tibbet to Delhi, and last from Xinxiyang to Laddakh onwards to already in construction north west frieght corridor. I think maybe in our lifetime our both government will accept the current border as permanent. That can unlock the real potential. China is already far ahead in infrastructure development.

 

[JSCh]

 

[Viet]

Not too bad. Respect.

 

[wonderful]

I have started dreaming from some last few years that there is a direct connection between Kunming & Chengdu to Arunanchal and onwards, Lhasa to Bengal via Sikkim, tibbet to Delhi, and last from Xinxiyang to Laddakh onwards to already in construction north west frieght corridor. I think maybe in our lifetime our both government will accept the current border as permanent. That can unlock the real potential. China is already far ahead in infrastructure development.

not that easy as u've thought, man.

salute to those brave builders!

 

[AndrewJin]

Kunming's new HSR terminal
Kunming South
Peacock South

Ticket check

 

[AndrewJin]

Now, China is a small country

Kunming-Beijing from 33h to 12h11min
Kunming-Shenzhen from 29h to 6h51min
Kunming-Wuhan from 22h to 6h25min

 

[RISING SUN]

not that easy as u've thought, man.

salute to those brave builders!

I know and fully understand how much difficult that can be. However that is my personal optimistic opinion.

 

[AndrewJin]

Connectivity to Kunming South (without transfer)
New timetable effective from 5 Jan. 2017

6 seconds to cross it! "Super" bridge allows bullet trains to pass at full speed
6 years of work, for 6 seconds! "Super" railway bridge in mountainous region of SW China allows bullet trains to pass at full speed -- no less than 300 km/h. The bridge is part of a high-speed rail linking the eastern hub of Shanghai with the southwestern city of Kunming, which will fully start operation on Wednesday.

 

[JSCh]

China Focus: China's major east-west high-speed railway starts operation
Source: Xinhua | 2016-12-28 19:45:49 | Editor: huaxia

A test train in seen on the Guizhou West section of the Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, Dec. 17, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

KUNMING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday put one of the world's longest high-speed railways into operation, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast with the less-developed southwest.

The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses five provinces, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, and cuts the travel time from Shanghai to Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province, from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation.

The maximum speed is 330 km per hour, said Wang Jingda, a train driver.

"Look son, the train is travelling at 160, 200, 300 km per hour. It is so fast," said a father on the train.

A girl at Kunming railway station told Xinhua she is excited because she can now join her husband every day, with a short 40 minute ride. The two live in different cities 235 km apart.

The Shanghai-Kunming line is the longest east to west high-speed railway in China. The north to south 2,298-km Beijing-Guangzhou line is even longer and started in 2012.

China has built more than 20,000 km of high-speed rail lines. The mileage will increase to 45,000 km by 2030. The launch of the Shanghai-Kunming line means the country's high-speed rail grid has taken shape, connecting almost all provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.

On Wednesday another high-speed rail line, linking Kunming and Nanning, capital of southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was launched.

Yunnan is home to 25 indigenous ethnic minorities. Attendants on the Shanghai-Kunming line are trained to be multilingual. One of the attendants Yang Yanzhu, for example, speaks eight local languages.

TOURISM DRIVE

The Shanghai-Kunming line has been touted by some as the most beautiful high-speed railway route in China as many of the train stops are tourist sites. Yunnan, itself, is a big draw for Chinese tourists as the region boasts snow-capped mountains, canyons, tropical forests, and ethnic villages.

Trains have contributed to a tourist boom in several southwest cities in the past few years.

Last year, about 75 percent of visitors to Guilin, a tourist city in Guangxi region, arrived by train, said Vice Mayor Zhang Xiaowu. The inland city has been linked to Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, since 2013.

Huang Zhihao, an official in Guangzhou's neighboring city of Foshan, said local travelers to Guizhou increased seven-fold, while those to Guangxi rose 67 percent in 2015.

After the launch of the Shanghai-Kunming line, the annual growth of Kunming's tourist arrivals is expected to double, according to Kunming Municipal Tourism Development Commission.

"Yunnan tourism will get a boost. People can reach their destinations faster and spend more time relaxing," said Ming Qingzhong with Yunnan University of Finance and Economics.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Besides tourism, the rail line connects Yunnan with one of the country's most vibrant economic powerhouses -- the Shanghai-centered Yangtze River Delta economic zone.

The size of the Yunnan economy was about half that of Shanghai in 2015. Local governments and business people expect the connection may help the land-locked provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou to develop.

Yunnan's border trade with Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam is also expected to get a lift.

"It will be faster for us to travel on high-speed trains," said Chandara, a Laotian businessman. "I am so excited."

The developed regions have advantages in capital, technology and talent, while Guangxi and Guizhou are rich in resources.

With rail lines improving connectivity, the southwest cities eye increasing investment and migration for jobs.

In Guizhou's city of Duyun, over 100 furniture factories from Guangzhou opened stores there after the train service was launched three years ago.

And the government has since ramped up training to help young locals to seek jobs in the Pearl River Delta, the country's manufacturing hub.

 

[AndrewJin]

On the inauguration day at Guanling County's HST station

Guanling County, Guizhou Province

 

[LeGenD]

Impressive developments. Some jaw-dropping stuff there.

 

[TaiShang]

Now, China is a small country

China is a big country with very fast transportation, which makes it feel like a small country.

@long_

***

East-west high-speed railway starts operation

Xinhua, December 29, 2016

A test train in seen on the Guizhou West section of the Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, Dec. 17, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)






A woman (L) of the Drung ethnic group from Yunnan Province is seen on a train running on the Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, Dec. 28, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)


Staff members check the G4142 train at Kunmingnan Railway Station in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Dec. 28, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)


Passengers from Yunnan Province arrive at Guiyangbei Railway Station in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, Dec. 28, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)


Passengers of the Tibetan ethnic group perfom on a train running on the Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway, Dec. 28, 2016. China on Wednesday put into operation one of the world's longest high-speed railways, linking the country's prosperous eastern coast to the less-developed southwest. The Shanghai-Kunming line -- 2,252 km in length -- traverses the five provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan and cuts travel time from Shanghai to Kunming from 34 to 11 hours, according to China Railway Corporation. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)


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