New high-speed railway line more advanced, eco-friendly

The new high-speed railway connecting Beijing with China's northeastern provinces not only shortens travel time, but also features high technology and an environmentally friendly design.

The new line was inaugurated on Friday and demonstrates China's strong capability to build high-tech and green high-speed railway and infrastructure.

The new line links Beijing with Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin－the capital cities of China's three northeastern provinces－and shortens travel time between Beijing and Harbin in the northernmost Heilongjiang province to less than 5 hours. Two old routes took more than 7 and 8 hours.

Trains running on the line will initially travel at a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour, the company said, but its maximum design speed is 350 km/h.

A section of the route from Harbin to Shenyang, Liaoning, was put into operation in 2012. Another section from Shenyang to Chengde, Hebei, began service in 2018. The 192-km section from Chengde to Beijing opened on Friday.

To reduce noise from railway operations, engineers designed a 1,840-meter "tunnel-like" sound barrier on the section that passes a residential area between Beijing's fourth and fifth ring roads.

"The sound barrier spans six railway lines－two existing ones and four new lines under construction," said Wu Dong, chief engineer of the newly opened section from China Railway Design Corp, a subsidiary of China Railway Corp, the national railway operator.

He added that the sound barrier will provide a sample for similar projects.

The new line passes through complicated topographies including plains and mountains. It requires diverse and sophisticated designs for the track, bridges and tunnels, said Cui Xiulong, the engineer in charge of track systems for China Railway Design Corp.

The new line has 46 bridges and 30 tunnels.

"We have adopted a track system with China's independent intellectual property rights, which verifies the reliability and stability of the system at 350 km/h," he said.

All services will depart or terminate at the new Beijing Chaoyang Railway Station, which opened on Friday.

The station is based on environmentally friendly concepts, the station's designer Wang Qingyi said.

A parking lot was built on part of the station's roof, which is made of reinforced concrete and is above the platforms and on the same level as the passenger lobby. Visitors can walk to the station's lobby in three minutes from the parking lot, which can accommodate as many as 555 vehicles.

"It also saves space and increases land utilization. Building a parking lot on the roof is a practice for the city's sustainable development," designer Wang said.

Also, an electricity-saving illumination system has been adopted to save energy. Thanks to the new design, lights are not turned on during the day, when the lobby is bright enough for passengers.

A new type of bullet train that can operate under temperatures as low as-40 C runs on the line.

The new train can endure extremely cold weather, and provides Braille on the door of restrooms, said Ren Mengyi, the chief conductress.

She also said that cuisine from the northeastern region is provided onboard.