Nanning–Guangzhou high-speed railway

The Nanning–Guangzhou high-speed railway (Chinese: 南宁至广州铁路; pinyin: Nánníng zhì Guǎngzhōu Tiělù),^[1] abbreviated as Nan–Guang railway (Chinese: 南广铁路; pinyin: Nán–Guǎng Tiělù), connects Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, in China. Construction started on November 9, 2008; Nanning to Wuzhou was completed by April 18, 2014, while the full route opened on December 26, 2014. The total cost was about 41 billion RMB.^[2] The railway is expected to spur economic development, and increase mobility across the Guangxi and western Guangdong regions.

Nanning–Guangzhou high-speed railway 南广铁路
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Nanning Guangzhou
Termini	Nanning Guangzhou South
Stations	23
Service
Services	1
Operator(s)	CR Guangzhou Group, CR Nanning Group
History
Opened	December 26, 2014
Technical
Line length	576 km (358 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Minimum radius	3,500 m (11,483 ft)
Operating speed	250 km/h (155 mph)
Maximum incline	Nanning-Guigang 12% Guigang-Guangzhou 6%
Route map Legend Nanning Nanning East Nanning-Qinzhou HSR Binyang Liuzhou–Nanning ICR Crossing Hunan–Guangxi Railway Guigang Yu River Guiping Pingnan South Tengxian Crossing Luoyang–Zhanjiang Railway Wuzhou South Guangxi / Guangdong border Yunan Nanjiangkou Yunfu East Guiyang-Guangzhou HSR Zhaoqing East Crossing Guangzhou–Maoming Railway Sanshui South Foshan West Towards Guangzhou Guangzhou South

Route

The railway travels mostly along the Pearl River Delta's Xi River valley. From Nanning it initially follows the route of the Liuzhou–Nanning Intercity Railway to Litang in Binyang County. It then heads eastward through Guigang, crossing the Yu River, over Guiping, Pingnan and Tengxian to Wuzhou. After entering Guangdong it passes Yunan and Yunfu to Zhaoqing, before reaching Guangzhou South railway station. Its total length is 576 km (358 mi), 349 km (217 mi) of which is in Guangxi, 227 km (141 mi) in Guangdong. Twenty-three stations will be built along the route, though not all will service passengers.

Technical standards

The railway is electrified, with a double track standard construction for high-speed passenger trains and fast freight trains. The operating speed is 200 km/h for D (First Generation) Trains, and up to 250 km/h for G (Second Generation) Trains.

• Grade : national grade I
• The number of main lines: double
• Passenger train design speed: D Trains 200 km/h, G Trains 250 km/h
• Minimum curve radius : 3500m
• Limiting slope : Nanning to Guigang 12 ‰, Guigang to Guangzhou South 6 ‰
• Traction types : electric traction
• Traction Quality : 4000t
• Block mode : automatic block
• Construction Clearance: CDB double-stack container trains to meet the transport requirements.

Construction history

• November 9, 2008 – Construction started.
• October 10, 2009 – Breakthrough on the first tunnel.
• June 22, 2011 – Ceremony to commemorate the completion of construction work in Guangxi.^[3]
• May 22, 2012 – Songgen Yunan Tunnel, located in Yunfu City, Guangdong completed with a total length of 3,123 meters.
• March 4, 2014 – Northridge Hill Tunnel is completed, located in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. With a total length of 12,438 meters, it is the longest tunnel.^[4]
• April 18, 2014 – Guangxi segment of Nanning-Guangzhou railway opens. Nanning to Wuzhou now just takes two and a half hours.^[5]
• July 7, 2014 – Construction completed from Wuzhou to Zhaoqing.^[6]
• November 8, 2014 – The last section is completed and ready for final testing.^[7]
• December 26, 2014 – The whole line is opened to traffic.^[8]

Future development

Rail Transport in Nanning

Nanning is already connected by conventional-speed rail to Vietnam, though Pingxiang on the China–Vietnam border. Nanning–Pingxiang high-speed railway is also under construction. This would allow high-speed trains from Guangzhou to Nanning to continue on to Vietnam and other countries in ASEAN, connecting with the Kunming–Singapore railway.^[9]

References

1. "新建南宁至广州铁路项目建议书通过批复". 2008-03-14. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
2. 南宁至广州铁路今日开工 投资总额410亿元 (in Chinese).
3. =南广铁路关键控制性工程——花培岭隧道提前贯通 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 26, 2014.
4. 南廣鐵路最后一座隧道勝利貫通 年底全線開通運行 (in Chinese).
5. 南廣鐵路廣西段正式開通運營 桂東南融入高鐵經濟圈 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on April 19, 2014.
6. 南广铁路铺轨接入肇庆东站 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-07-25.
7. 南广铁路最后一段进入全线联调联试 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
8. 贵广、南广高铁正式开通 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on December 26, 2014.
9. 南廣鐵路動工 廣州火車將直通新加坡 (in Chinese).