CONNECTING MILLIONS

Where is it? Xiamen, China When will it be completed? 2023 Did you know? Trains will run at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour

PHOTO: SCJIANG/CC BY-SA 4.0

PHOTO: XINHUA/WEI PEIQUA

PHOTO: XINHUA/WEI PEIQUA

The construction of a 250,000-squaremetre extension to Xiamen North Railway Station has been completed in Xiamen, China.

The new section will serve as the terminus for China’s latest high-speed rail line. Scheduled to open to the public in September, the upgraded Xiamen North station will have 13 platforms with a total of 27 rail tracks.

The railway is anticipated to handle an annual passenger volume of 50 million and will surpass London Waterloo, the busiest station in the UK, by about ten million passengers.

Notably, this station will be a crucial link in China’s first high-speed rail line that crosses the sea. Engineers built bridges over Meizhou Bay, Quanzhou Bay, and Anhai Bay to achieve this.

PHOTO: XINHUA/WEI PEIQUA

The new rail line connects the coastal city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province, with Xiamen Island, home to China’s eighthlargest container port. Fujian province, situated opposite Taiwan, has a population of approximately 42 million.

The ambitious 277-kilometre-long rail project began construction in 2017 and was completed last month, followed by the commencement of commissioning work.

Trains will run at a speed of 350 kilometres per hour, effectively cutting travel time between the cities to just one hour.

iC