The groundbreaking ceremony for the Shanxi province section of the Xiongan-Xinzhou High-speed Railway is held on Oct 1. [Photo/Shanxi Daily]

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Shanxi province section of the Xiongan-Xinzhou High-speed Railway (HSR) was held on Oct 1. 

The Xiongan-Xinzhou High-speed Railway is an important part of the national Beijing-Kunming corridor and a key railway construction project in service of the development plan of the modern comprehensive transportation system laid out in the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

It is the first high-speed railway with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour to be built by Shanxi. It has a total length of 342 kilometers and 13 stations, and costs a total of 59.1 billion yuan ($8.31 billion).

The 122-km Shanxi section starts from the North Taihang Mountain Tunnel Entrance, passes through Mount Wutai scenic area, Wutai county, and Dingxiang county, and connects to Xinzhou West Railway Station. It carries a price tag of 20.9 billion yuan and will be constructed in 4.5 years.

Wang Tongjun, deputy general manager of China State Railway Group Co, said that the Shanxi section of the Xiongan-Xinzhou High-speed Railway is an important means for Shanxi to integrate into the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and serve the Xiongan New Area, which is of great significance to the regional modern comprehensive transportation system and socioeconomic development.