Harmony-CRH380A train. [Photo/gog.cn]

China Railway Chengdu Bureau Group Co Ltd announced that the Tongren-Yuping Railway, the second intercity railway in Southwest China's Guizhou province, officially opened to the public on Dec 26. The first train, G4622, is set to depart from Guiyang North Station at 10:36 am that same day, bound for Tongren.

Beginning construction in December 2013, the Tongren-Yuping Railway is the first section of the Jishou-Yuping Railway and is well-connected with neighboring rail routes. Thus, it is key to Guizhou's development of a more comprehensive railway network.

The Tongren-Yuping Railway is 47.8 kilometers long, 73.8 percent of which is tunnel. It has a designated speed of 200 km/h.

For the early stage of its operation (Dec 26, 2018-Jan 24, 2019), the railway has arranged five trains with a travel time of just 1 hour 40 minutes.

Trains G4622 and G4624 will travel from Guiyang North Railway Station to Tongren, and trains G4621, G4623 and G4625 will travel in the opposite direction.

The new railway has connected Tongren city with the national high-speed railway network, and will play an important role in accelerating the construction of intercity railways in Guizhou and improve the province's railway network.