[Photo via Beijing Daily App]

At 7:00 on August 1, train G55371 departed from Xiong'an Station, marking the completion of 108 days of joint testing and commissioning for the Hebei section of the Xiong'an–Shangqiu High-Speed Railway. The section has now entered the operational trial phase, the final step before it opens to passengers.

Following the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway and the Beijing–Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, Beijing is set to have the third major high-speed rail artery heading southbound, and the Xiong'an–Shangqiu High-Speed Railway is part of it. The railway runs from Xiong'an Station on the Beijing–Xiong'an Intercity Railway to Shangqiu Station on the Shangqiu–Hefei–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway. Its main line stretches 552 kilometers with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

The Xiong'an–Shangqiu High-Speed Railway is a key section of the Beijing–Hong Kong High-Speed Railway in China's "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway network. It runs south to connect with the Shangqiu–Hefei High-Speed Railway, Hefei–Anqing–Jiujiang High-Speed Railway and the Nanchang–Jiujiang High-Speed Railway currently under construction. It further links the Nanchang–Ganzhou High-Speed Railway, Ganzhou–Shenzhen High-Speed Railway and Guangzho–Shenzhen–Hong Kong High-Speed Railway, forming a major north-to-south railway corridor.

In the future, passengers travelling from Beijing will be able to take the Beijing–Xiong'an Intercity Railway and transfer to the Xiong'an–Shangqiu High-Speed Railway, and directly reach cities including Hengshui, Liaocheng and Shangqiu, significantly reducing travel time.

(Source: Beijing Daily)