China
16:36, 06-Jul-2017
Beijing-Xiongan bullet train means full steam ahead in plan to ease capital's sprawl
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The first bullet train from Beijing to Xiongan New Area, the overspill town that is part of an ambitious plan to address the capital's urban sprawl, left Beijing South Railway Station on Thursday morning.
Chinanews.com reported that train D6655 was scheduled to reach Baiyangdian Railway Station in Xiongan New Area, some 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, in about 80 minutes after departing at 8:08 a.m.
The terminal for the regular service is Baoding in Hebei Province. The whole journey will take one hour and 50 minutes.
According to the daily schedule, a train will leave Baoding Railway Station and go through Xiongan New Area en route to Beijing at 10:26 a.m. In the afternoon, a train will depart Beijing at 1 p.m. and another train will leave Baoding at 4:15 p.m. Apart from the railway stations in Beijing, Baoding and Xiongan, the trains will also stop at Baozhou, Baigou and Xushui.
The plan is for a one-hour transport triangle between Beijing, Tianjin and Shi Jiazhuang / CGTN Picture
The plan is for a one-hour transport triangle between Beijing, Tianjin and Shi Jiazhuang / CGTN Picture
China announced plans to establish Xiongan New Area in April. Chinese leaders hope the new area will help address the severe "urban ills" of traffic congestion and air pollution in Beijing by absorbing some of the capital's population growth. "Non-capital functions" will be moved from Beijing to Xiongan.
The plan was to forge a cross-city express railway network between Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang so that people living in this triangular area can reach each of the three cities within one hour. Bullet trains have already been running between Beijing and Tianjin and Tianjin and Baoding.
(With inputs from China Daily)