The Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway is expected to open by the end of next year, when travel from Wuhu to Hefei will take as little as 40 minutes. On February 7, reporters from Jianghuai Morning Post and Jianghuai Net learned from relevant departments that the second pre-station section of the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway has taken the lead in completing the erection of 599 box girders, marking the completion of all box girder erection tasks for the 22-kilometer section. After the Spring Festival, bridge deck works and ballastless track slabs will be fully constructed, laying the foundation for ensuring opening and operation by the end of 2019.
　　The second pre-station section of the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway completed three crossings in 382 days
　　Reporters learned that the second pre-station section of the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway, constructed by China Railway 21st Bureau Group, is located within Qiaocheng District, Bozhou City. Starting from June 24, 2016, when the first box girder was erected on the entire line, it took 382 days to complete three crossings: the continuous beam over National Highway 311, the continuous beam over Suxu Expressway, and the portal pier over the Beijing-Kowloon Railway. It also completed three passages: through the 4-kilometer girder erection channel at Lumiao Station, through the 2-kilometer section with piers over 20 meters high, and through the 3-kilometer section with a 19.5‰ gradient.
　　In addition, the survey and design project for the comprehensive hub supporting project of Zhegao Station on the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou Railway in Chaohu City is about to start bidding. According to the plan, Zhegao Station of the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway is located in the southern part of Zhegao Town, Chaohu City, 28 km from Feidong Station and about 24 km from Chaohu East Station. Zhegao Station is positioned as an intermediate station on the national high-speed trunk line and will also become an important passenger transport hub for the Chaobei New City and the Chaohu Lake tourism and leisure area. In the future, it will mainly serve the external travel of residents in various towns in the Chaobei area, the Hefei-Chaohu-Wuhu intercity commuting, and leisure tourism around Chaohu Lake. Based on the base resources, multiple zones will be formed, including leisure and vacation zones, supporting service zones, commercial service zones, and high-speed rail logistics zones.
　　According to the project construction schedule, Zhegao Station is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-2020.
　　After the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou Railway is completed, the fastest travel time from Hefei to Wuhu will be only 40 minutes
　　The Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou Railway runs from the Central Plains to the Jianghuai region and then to the eastern coast, traversing Henan, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces. It is an important trunk line in China's passenger dedicated line network and the second north-south passenger corridor in East China.
　　The Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou Railway connects with existing and under-construction passenger dedicated lines such as Zhengzhou-Xuzhou, Hefei-Bengbu, Hefei-Fuzhou, Hefei-Nanjing, Nanjing-Anqing, and Nanjing-Hangzhou, as well as planned passenger dedicated lines and intercity railways such as Beijing-Kowloon, Zhengzhou-Hefei, Bozhou-Bengbu, Lujiang-Chaohu-Ma'anshan, and Huzhou-Suzhou-Shanghai. It links five railway hubs: Shangqiu, Fuyang, Hefei, Wuhu, and Hangzhou. It is one of the projects with the most complex connections in China's high-speed railway (passenger dedicated line) construction.
　　After completion, the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway will connect with the Hefei-Bengbu High-Speed Railway at Shuijiahu Station, with the Hefei-Fuzhou High-Speed Railway at Chaohu East Station, with the soon-to-open Nanjing-Anqing Intercity Railway at Wuhu Station, and with the soon-to-start Zhengzhou-Fuyang High-Speed Railway at Fuyang North Station, connecting to Zhengzhou; it will connect with the planned Huzhou-Suzhou-Shanghai High-Speed Railway at Huzhou Station, linking to Shanghai. By then, citizens in many places will find high-speed rail travel more convenient and time-saving, with the fastest travel time from Wuhu to Hefei being only 40 minutes. Reporter Liu Meimei
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　　Lujiang West Station to start construction in the second half of this year
　　As an important section of the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway, it is planned to be put into use in 2020, with the fastest travel time to Hefei being only 15 minutes
　　By 2020, Lujiang County will officially enter the "high-speed rail era," and travel to Hefei will take as little as 15 minutes. Recently, the expert review meeting for the station area planning of Lujiang West Station on the Hefei-Anqing Passenger Dedicated Line was held. Eleven well-known experts from inside and outside the province reviewed the planning and design scheme for the Lujiang West Station area. Currently, the planning for Lujiang West Station has officially started, and construction will begin in the second half of this year.
　　The Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway is the first high-speed railway in the province to be constructed with controlling shares, and it is also an important part of the Beijing-Kowloon High-Speed Railway in the national "eight vertical and eight horizontal" railway network plan. Reporters learned that the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway starts from the new Hefei West Station, passes through Feixi, Shucheng, Lujiang, Tongcheng, Huaining and other cities and counties, and ends at the new Anqing West Station.
　　Reporters learned from Lujiang that according to the plan, the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway is about 42 kilometers long within Lujiang, passing through six towns: Guohe, Jinniu, Shitou, Wanshan, Ketan, and Leqiao. The estimated investment is about 6.8 billion yuan. Lujiang West Station will be located about 5 kilometers west of the urban area, and the county plans to build it at 12,000 square meters. "Previously, Lujiang County officially started the construction of the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway project in November 2016. By the end of March 2017, it took the lead in completing the land acquisition and relocation tasks on the entire line. Currently, the main works of the Lujiang section have been fully constructed, and girder erection will follow," introduced a responsible person from Lujiang County.
　　The "protagonist" of this expert review meeting for the station area planning of Lujiang West Station is precisely Lujiang West Station. The Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway will set up Lujiang West Station about 5 kilometers west of Lujiang urban area. "At present, core projects of the high-speed rail station area such as the station-front avenue, station-front square, and Yihu West Road have been included in the county's 2018 major construction plan," introduced the responsible person. According to the "planning timetable," Lujiang West Station will start construction in the second half of this year and is expected to be completed and put into use simultaneously with the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway Lujiang West Station in 2020.
　　At this review meeting, 11 experts from the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei Planning and Design Research Institute, Anhui Comprehensive Transportation Research Institute, Anhui Communications Vocational & Technical College, and other units put forward opinions and suggestions on the design scheme from different perspectives such as planning, architecture, landscape architecture, roads and bridges, water supply and drainage, and railway transportation. The published rendering of Lujiang West Station adopts a fully gray hollow metal structure, and the symmetrical design makes the entire station look quite "high-end."
　　What benefits will the completion of Lujiang West Station bring? The first and foremost is to shorten the distance between Lujiang and Hefei. "After it is put into use, it will take only 15-20 minutes from Lujiang to Hefei, realizing the integration of the county town and the provincial capital," introduced the responsible person. This will also make up for the shortcomings of Lujiang's transportation, further enhance Lujiang's location advantages, and accelerate the pace of building Lujiang as a southern sub-center of Hefei. Secondly, it will greatly improve Lujiang's transportation conditions, allowing Lujiang residents to ride and experience advanced, fast, and safe transportation modes right at their doorstep.