On the 4th, at the Yantai South Railway Station construction site, dozens of large machines were roaring, and construction workers were busy at their posts. The project is currently carrying out subgrade, bridge, and station building foundation pit excavation, as well as pile foundation and transverse structure construction. There are 12 drilling rigs and more than 50 pieces of large equipment on site, with over 400 workers participating in the construction.

As an important transportation hub of the city, Yantai South Railway Station holds a pivotal position and has played an important role in facilitating regional cooperation and convenient travel for citizens. However, with urban development and passenger flow growth, the original south station, with 2 platforms and 5 tracks and a station building of less than 10,000 square meters, has become increasingly difficult to meet passenger travel demands.

The Weifang-Yantai Railway Yantai South Railway Station and EMU Depot Project Section 1, undertaken by China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group, is divided into five parts: the turnback and arrival-departure lines, the Yantai South Railway Station reconstruction project, the station building and related projects, track laying, and the four-electric systems project. After reconstruction, the station yard will reach a scale of 5 platforms and 11 tracks, with a station building area of 58,000 square meters, adopting a "side-style + elevated waiting hall" configuration. "After reconstruction, Yantai South Railway Station will be nearly six times the size of the existing building area, achieving significant improvements in station yard area and platform scale, greatly enhancing the station's carrying capacity, helping to relieve passenger flow pressure, and providing passengers with a more spacious and comfortable waiting environment," said Xu Shaoxia.

In the rendering, the Yantai South Railway Station building has two above-ground floors and one underground floor. The main entrance of the station building adopts a "framed view" gray space treatment, with a cantilevered roof combined with a recessed side wall space treatment to form a towering visual center. The roof and exterior walls adopt an integrated "folded plate" shape. Considering ventilation and lighting, the roof uses high side windows, aligned diagonally with the platform canopies, creating an orderly and rhythmic effect. The interior decoration style of Yantai South Railway Station echoes the concept of a "mountain and sea city," using natural, bright colors, with wood tones integrated with mountain and sea elements, creating an open and comfortable spatial atmosphere that reflects Yantai's regional characteristics.

About 5 kilometers southeast of Yantai South Railway Station, there is also a bustling construction scene. The Yantai South Railway Station EMU Depot project is being accelerated. The EMU depot is adjacent to Jindou Mountain Road to the north and the coastal expressway to the east, and is the parking and maintenance depot for EMUs at Yantai South Railway Station.

At the beam fabrication yard, looking out, the ground has been leveled, and equipment such as the mixing station and laboratory are in place. The beam yard is responsible for producing more than 100 precast beams needed for the Yantai South Railway Station and EMU depot project, with the first beam planned to be poured in March.

Leaving the beam yard, busy construction sites are everywhere. The offline pile foundations and pile caps of Bridge No. 1 and Bridge No. 2, as well as the 7 culverts within the subgrade area of the EMU depot, are all under intensive construction. At the main pier pile cap of the 56-meter T-shaped rigid frame spanning Jindou Mountain Road on the No. 2 EMU running line bridge, more than a dozen workers are tying rebar. The main pier pile cap will soon be poured.

The newly built Yantai South EMU Depot will include 6 inspection shed lines and 30 stabling lines, with 4 inspection shed lines and 13 stabling lines reserved for the long term. The 56,000-square-meter six-line inspection shed will be the facility for future EMU maintenance. The EMU depot project will greatly increase the number of trains originating and terminating at Yantai South Railway Station, providing more choices for high-speed rail travel. After the project is completed at the end of March next year, it will enter the commissioning stage to ensure opening and operation by June 30, 2027.