High-speed rail to accelerate urban agglomeration construction in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area

A high-speed train departs from Beijing South Railway Station, heading to Tianjin. [Photo/Xinhua]

An interurban railway network is to be completed by 2030 which will link Beijing, Tianjin, and cities in Hebei province such as Langfang, Baoding, Tangshan, and Shijiazhuang, according to a project proposal on the construction of an intercity railway within Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region released at the end of 2016.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is regarded as one of the areas with the best innovative abilities and highest degree of openness in China, which covers 216,000 square kilometers and holds about 110 million people. The region will be constructed into a world-class urban agglomeration with strong international competitiveness and important influence.

Cheng Shidong, director of the Urban Traffic Office at the Institute of Comprehensive Transportation of National Development and Reform Commission, said "the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is to become a leading economic contributor in areas around Bohai Sea, and high-speed trains and intercity railways will be the main support system for the efficient and safe traffic system for this future urban agglomeration."

He added that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area is the birthplace of China's railways and has become the area with the most intense railroad network in the country. However, the existing railway system is not enough to meet the needs of people travelling among these three places, which should logically lead to the construction of more convenient and efficient rail transportation.

Beijing-Tianjin intercity high-speed railway, the first rail line that could reach 350 kilometers per hour in China, opened in 2008, after which people could travel between the two cities in less than 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the railway also improve the industrial distribution among the three places. More than 850 Beijing and Hebei enterprises settled in Tianjin in 2015, and investment from Beijing and Hebei accounted for 42 percent of the total domestic capital in Tianjin.

According to the intercity railway construction project, a one-hour commuting circle is to be built among Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, by 2020, and more inter-urban railways will be opened to improve industrial distribution.

Zhao Hong, vice president of the Beijing Academy of Social Science, added "Rail transportation lays a foundation for a balanced development in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and solves the depression effect around Beijing."