Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway marks fifth anniversary

A bullet train runs on a snow-covered track on the Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway.[Photo/Chinanews.com]

The Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway, the world's first high-speed railway operated at high latitudes and low temperatures, has now been in service for five years.

The 921-kilometer line linking Harbin, capital of China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, and the port city of Dalian, Liaoning province, travels through the whole three provinces in Northeast China where the temperature drops to as low as -40 C in winter and hits highs of 30 C in summer.

Since the line opened on Dec 1, 2012, over 300 million trips have been made on this track, which is equal to the total population of Northeast China making the trip three times.

Over the past five-year period, it has also withstood as many as 102 snowstorms and proved safe and reliable.

The high-speed link reduces the travel time between Harbin and Dalian to four hours from the previous 10 hours.

Joining the Shenyang-Dandong, Dandong-Dalian high-speed railways in the south, the Harbin-Qiqihar, Harbin-Mudanjiang, Harbin-Jiamusi high-speed railways in the north, and the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang high-speed railway in the center, the operation of the Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway signals a high-speed railway network linking cities in Northeast China to the whole country.

Passengers are able to travel among the central cities in Northeast China, such as Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian, within two hours; and the journey from the major cities in the region to Beijing is no more than six hours by high-speed train.

The top speed of the bullet trains on the Harbin-Dalian line is 350 kilometers per hour, but during the initial stages of operation, they traveled at slower speeds. During the line's winter schedule, normally from December to April, trains traveled at 200 km/h, and for the rest of the year, 300 km/h.

Due to the safe operation of the line for a long period of time, the speed of the trains traveling on the line has increased to 300 km/h all year round.

Currently, a total of 110 bullet trains travel on the line, providing an average of 140,034 seats for passengers each day.

The Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway is playing an important role in boosting the development of transportation, and the economy and trade in the region.