Construction of the Ankang to Chongqing section of the Xi 'an-Chongqing high-speed Railway (West-Chongqing high-speed Railway) has begun recently. The project from the construction of Xi 'an to Ankang high-speed railway Ankang West Station, by Langao, Chengkou, Xuanhan, Dazhou, Dazhu, Guang 'an, Hechuan, Beibei, to Chongqing hub Chongqing West Station, the total length of the line 477.9 kilometers (including 446.7 kilometers of new lines), the synchronous construction of Fan Kuai by Kaizhou to Wanzhou connection line, 90.2 kilometers long. The West-Chongqing high-speed railway is an important part of the Beijing-Kunming channel from Beijing to Kunming and the Baotou (Yinchuan) channel from Baotou and Yinchuan to Haikou in China's eight-vertical and eight-horizontal high-speed railway network.

After the completion of the project, it will connect with the completed and operational Chongqing-Guizhou Railway, Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed Railway, Xu-Lanzhou high-speed Railway, Yinxi high-speed Railway, Daxi high-speed Railway, and the under construction Chongqing-Kunming high-speed railway, Chongqing-Wan high-speed Railway, Chengda-wan high-speed Railway, Xiyan-yan high-speed railway and other lines, promoting the further improvement of the road network structure in the central and western regions.

The new Xi 'an-Kunming high-speed railway is the longest newly built section of the Beijing-Kunming corridor with the largest investment scale and the highest construction standard. The project leads from Xi 'an East Railway Station under construction, passes through Ankang West, Langao, Chengkou, Xuanhan, Dazhou, Guang 'an, Hechuan, Beibei, Jiangjin, Luzhou, Yibin, Bijie, Zhaotong and Qujing, and finally reaches the Kunming South Railway Station with the existing Shanghai Kunming high-speed railway, through Shaanxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.

The total length of the main line is about 1350 kilometers, the contact line is 90 kilometers, and the design speed is 350 kilometers. The estimated total investment for research and approval is 300.85 billion yuan. The planned construction period is 6 years (4.5 years for the section from Chongqing to Yibin).

Due to the long section and large investment, the Xi 'an-Kunming high-speed railway will adopt the mode of segmented construction and operation, which is divided into three major construction projects: Xikang high-speed Railway, Kangchong-Chongqing high-speed Railway and Chongqing-Kunming high-speed railway.

Xi 'an to Ankang section

The total length of the new line is about 171 kilometers. There are six stations: Xi 'an East, Taihe, Zhashui West, Zhen 'an West, Tongmu (Yuehang) and Ankang West. The project has been fully started in July 2021, the construction period is 5 years, and it is planned to be completed by the end of June 2026.

Ankang to Chongqing section

The total length of the main line is 478 kilometers, a total of 10 stations such as Langao, Chengkou, Fan Kuai, Xuan Hannan, Dazhou South, Dazhu, Guang Andong, Hechuan east, Beibei South, Chongqing West (already), and Zhengyu high-speed rail connection line newly built Kaizhou station 1 station. The project is planned to last 6 years and is scheduled to be completed and opened to traffic by the end of December 2028.

Chongqing to Yibin section

With a total length of 206 kilometers, it has set up 8 stations including Jiulongpo (reserved), Jiangjinbei, Yongchuan South, Luzhou East, Luzhou, Nanxi, Lingang and Xinyibin. Construction has begun at the end of December 2020, the construction period is 4.5 years, and it is planned to be completed and opened to traffic by the end of June 2025.

Yibin to Kunming section

It has a great length of 495 kilometers. It has 12 stations, such as Gao County, Junlian, South of Yanjin, North of Yiliang, East of Zhaotong, Yicche, Huize, Tianba, Xundian, Songming, Changshui Airport, South of Kunming (existing). The control project will be started in December 2019, and the full line will be started in September 2021. The construction period will last 6 years, and it is planned to be completed by the end of September 2027.

The full line is expected to be completed by the end of 2028. By then, the non-stop high-speed train service between Xi 'an and Kunming railway station will be cut to about five hours, half the current time. It only takes about 3 hours from Xi 'an and Kunming to Chongqing. Chongqing to Beijing is expected to be shortened to less than eight hours. Editor/He Yuting