On May 30, the tender plan for the land use assembly and approval service project for the Jiangsu section of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway was released. The project is accelerating preliminary work such as the approval of the preliminary design and construction drawing design, and will strive to have the preliminary design approved in August and officially commence construction before the end of the year.

According to the public notice, the feasibility study of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway has been approved by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC Basic [2023] No. 603). Entrusted by the construction unit Jinbao Railway Company, the Xuzhou Railway Construction and Development Service Center and the Suqian Railway Development Center intend to organize tenders for the land and forest land assembly and approval service projects for the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway (Xuzhou section and Suqian section).

The newly built Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway is an important component of the Beijing-Shanghai auxiliary corridor of the national "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network. It is located in south-central Shandong Province and northern Jiangsu Province, running roughly north-south.

The project's construction will accelerate the formation of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway auxiliary corridor and the Hefei-Qingdao high-speed railway corridor, and is of positive significance for improving the regional high-speed railway network layout, alleviating the tight transport capacity of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, and promoting the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration, and the Yangtze River Delta region.

The project includes two parts: the main line of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway and the Qingdao connecting line, with an estimated total investment of nearly 100 billion yuan.

1. Main line of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway

The line starts from Weifang North Station on the Jinan-Qingdao High-Speed Railway, passes through Anqiu City and Zhucheng City under Weifang City, Wulian County and Ju County under Rizhao City, and Yishui County and Yinan County under Linyi City, then connects to Linyi North Station on the Rizhao-Lankao High-Speed Railway, runs south through Lanling County and Tancheng County under Linyi City and Xinyi City under Xuzhou City, crosses the New Yi River and enters Suqian City, and terminates at the reserved Yanghe North Station on the Xuzhou-Suqian-Yancheng-Huai'an Railway, with the main line reserved for extension to Sixian North Station on the Hefei-Xinyi High-Speed Railway.

Among them, the Weifang-Xinyi section is designed by China Railway Design Corporation, and the Xinyi-Suqian section is designed by China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd., with supporting construction of related projects such as the Weifang-Suqian-Jinan-Qingdao connecting line.

The main line of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway has a total length of 399.3 kilometers, including 325.2 kilometers in Shandong Province and 74.1 kilometers in Jiangsu Province, with a bridge-tunnel ratio of 86.2%. The estimated total investment is 76.05 billion yuan, the design speed is 350 kilometers per hour, and the construction period is 4.5 years.

The entire line has 12 stations: Weifang North (existing), Anqiu, Zhucheng West, Wulian North, Ju County Yishui, Yinan, Linyi North (existing), Lanling, Tancheng West, Xinyi East, Suqian East, and Yanghe North (overtaking station).

2. Qingdao connecting line

The Qingdao connecting line of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway is the newly built Qingdao-Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Auxiliary Corridor Railway (Qingdao-Wulian High-Speed Railway).

The project is a connecting line between the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway auxiliary corridor and the coastal corridor of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway main corridors, a key section of the central Shandong corridor, and an auxiliary corridor for passenger exchange between the Jiaodong Peninsula and the Yangtze River Delta and areas beyond.

The project's construction will greatly enhance the advantages of Qingdao West Station as a comprehensive transport hub integrating land, sea, and air connectivity, and achieve seamless connection between the Jiaodong economic circle and the two major economic circles of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the Yangtze River Delta.

The line leads out from the north end of Yanghekou Station on the Qingdao-Yancheng Railway, enters Qingdao West Station in a directional manner, then runs west through the West Coast New Area under Qingdao City and southern Zhucheng City under Weifang City, and connects to the planned Wulian North Station on the Weifang-Suqian Railway. Simultaneously, the renovation projects of Hongdao Station, Qingdao Station, and Qingdao EMU Depot (the relocation project of conventional-speed trains from the Qingdao hub) will be implemented.

The line length is 108.3 kilometers, with a bridge-tunnel ratio of 74.5%. Among them, 53.2 kilometers are within Qingdao City, 39.8 kilometers within Zhucheng City of Weifang City, and 15.3 kilometers within Wulian County of Rizhao City. The estimated total investment of the project is 23.53 billion yuan, and the design speed target value is 350 km/h.

The entire line has 4 stations: Yanghekou, Qingdao West, Zhucheng South, and Wulian North. Among them, Yanghekou and Qingdao West are existing stations to be renovated, Zhucheng South Station is a newly built intermediate station, and Wulian North Station is the junction station between this line and the Weifang-Suqian Railway.

Schematic diagram of the alignment of the Weifang-Suqian High-Speed Railway and the Qingdao connecting line ▼