Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua High Speed Railway Opens to Traffic

According to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as CHINA RAILWAY) , Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua HSR will be put into operation on December 6, 2021, shortening the travel time between Zhangjiajie and Huaihua to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Known as "the most beautiful HSR in western Hunan" and connectingmany famous tourist attractions such as Zhangjiajie, Furong Town and Fenghuang Ancient City, this HSR will boost the economic and social development in the region.

Situated in the western Hunan, the HSR starts from Zhangjiajie West Station of Qianjiang-Zhangjiajie-Changde Railway in the north, passes through Jishou City, Fenghuang County of Xiangxi Tujia-Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and Mayang Miao Autonomous County of Huaihua City, and ends at Huaihua South Station, with a total length of 245 km and a designed speed of 350 km/h.There are 7 railway stations along the line, namely, Zhangjiajie West Station, Furong Town Station, Guzhang West Station, Jishou East Station, Fenghuang Ancient City Station,Mayang West Station and Huaihua South Station, of which Zhangjiajie West Station and Huaihua South Station are existing stations.

The HSR passes through Wuling mountainous area and several river systems. Along the line, there are many natural reserves and tourist attractionswith changingclimate, bringing many difficulties forconstruction. Since the commencement of HSR construction in December 2016, CHINA RAILWAY organized the construction participants to overcome various difficulties and strengthened the construction organization. During the construction, a number of long and large tunnels, such as the 12kmlongsingle-tubedouble-track Jishou Tunnel, and a number of key bridges, such as the Youshui Super Major Bridge in asymmetric deck concrete-filled steel tube arch structure with a height of 150m and a main span of 292m, werebuilt successfully, which guarantees the on-schedule completion of the HSR. There are 162 new bridges and 118 tunnelsalongthe line, with a length of 223.9km, taking up 90.7% of the total.

CHINA RAILWAY has strictly implemented various regulations and standards, carefully organized the integrated commissioning & test, inspection, acceptance and safety assessment on the equipment and facilities in various HSR disciplines, and comprehensively optimized and adjusted the track status, pantograph-catenary performance, train control system, communication and signaling system, etc.,guaranteeing that the HSR is in line withthe requirements for safe and stable operationandready for commercial operation.

After the HSR is put into operation, CHINA RAILWAY will arrange 16 pairs of EMU trains with an initial operation speedof300 km/h.

The HSR is a regional connecting line of China's high speed railway network of "Eight North-South and West-East Railway Trunk Corridors", which connects Qianjiang-Changde Railway in the north, and Shanghai-Kunming HSR and Huaihua-Hengyang Railway in the south, and strings up various famous tourist attractions such as Wulingyuan, Tianmen Mountain, Furong Town, Mengdong River, Fenghuang Ancient City. The HSR is of great significance for improving the travel conditions for local people, promoting the development of tourism and acceleratingthe rural revitalization.

It is reported that CHINA RAILWAY will start selling tickets of the HSR at 9:00 on December 4. Passengers may go tothe WeChat official account of "China Railway" and the website, WeChat official account and mobile app of 12306.cnfor specific train number, timetable and other information.