China's first privately-owned high-speed railroad, Hangzhou-Taizhou High-speed Railway, has completed the laying of rails on its entire line, marking the beginning of a change in the previous practice of high-speed railway construction dominated by state-owned capital.
On June 22, the line laying was completed, laying a foundation for the full line to be opened for operation at the end of the year, according to CCTV.
The railway is one of the first eight demonstration projects for social capital investment in railroads in China, with a total length of 266.9 kilometers. The project is designed to run at 350 km/h and has eight stations.
Since track laying began on Feb. 1, 2021, its builder, China Railway 11th Bureau, has adopted advanced track-laying technology, enabling the highest track laying progress to reach 9 kilometers per day from the original 6 kilometers per day, according to the report.
By the end of May 2021, the project has completed a cumulative investment of RMB 38.8 billion yuan ($6 billion), accounting for 92%.
After the track laying completion of the whole line, the next step of the project will be the joint commissioning, operation test, inspection and acceptance and safety assessment, which is expected to be opened for operation at the end of this year.
(Source: CCTV)
