Zhengzhou-Xi'an High-speed Railway Boosts Local Economy

The high-speed railway between Zhengzhou and Xi'an, which opened in early February this year, is the first one of its kind in central and western China.

In the new round of China's western development plans, high-speed railways will boost both the economy and tourism markets.He Fei has more.

Henan province is located in central China, serving as the gateway to China's vast western regions. Shaanxi province, located in northwestern China, is famous for both its history and natural resources such as coal and oil.

The Zhengzhou-Xi'an High-speed Railway is a line linking the capital cities of the two provinces. The new railway is dedicated to passenger transportation, according to Dang Shaolin, the vice president of the Zhengzhou-Xi'an Railway Passenger Dedicated Line Corporation Ltd.

"As of October 15, the Zhengzhou-Xi'an High-speed Railway has seen safe operation for 252 days; and more than 3900 trains have run the route. Just in Henan province, nearly 1.9 million people traveled by high-speed trains during that period."

The Longhai Railway line linking Henan and Northwest China's Shaanxi province is an important trunk line in the country while the section between Zhengzhou and Xi'an is one of the busiest lines in China, Dang Shaolin explained.

"Both Henan and Shaanxi are abundant in natural resources. 90 percent of coal, 75 percent of goods produced in Henan and 80 percent of goods produced in Shaanxi province are transported by trains via the Longhai railway line. With the progress of China's western development, the Longhai railway line has become extremely busy, especially the section between Zhengzhou and Xi'an."

Dang Shaolin says, since the launch of the high-speed railway, more and more passengers have chosen the new line as a faster way to travel.

"The opening of the Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed railway is an important step for Longhai railway line to separate cargo shipping from passenger transport. The Zhengzhou-Xi'an Passenger Dedicated Line will help ease traffic pressure on the busiest stretch of the Longhai Railway. It will also promote the development of local economy."

Before the high-speed railway's operation, tourists in this region had long been troubled by the shortage of train tickets. Some of them even had to abandon travel plans. But now, they can enjoy more comfortable trips to other cities along the railway line, according to Zhang Jianhui, the vice mayor of Zhengzhou.

"The Zhengzhou-Xi'an High-speed Railway will boost the tourism market. Previously, the transportation which relied on buses and common trains bottlenecked the development of tourism in this region. Since the new railway line has started operation, we have seen an increase in local people traveling through the line; further, more tourists from other regions and countries have been attracted to the cities along the railway line."

For CRI, this is HF.