A staff member performs on the inaugural train from Wuwei East Station in Wuwei to Lanzhou West Station in Gansu's provincial capital on June 29, 2024. [Photo by Feng Lekai for China Daily]

Travel time between the two cities in Gansu is cut by nearly an hour

A high-speed railway line from Lanzhou, Gansu's provincial capital, to Wuwei, a city in central Gansu, commenced operations on Saturday, further improving the high-speed rail network in Northwest China.

The line runs from Lanzhou's Zhongchuan Airport Station and passes through Lanzhou's Yongdeng county and Wuwei's Tianzhu Tibetan autonomous county and Gulang county before ending at Wuwei East Station, China Railway Lanzhou Bureau Group said.

It serves six stations, spans 193 kilometers and has a maximum operating speed of 250 kilometers per hour. During the initial phase of operation, railway authorities will schedule a maximum of 20 passenger trains a day.

The travel time from Wuwei East Station to Lanzhou West Station will be 1 hour and 56 minutes, shaving 58 minutes from the journey on conventional trains, the group said.

To improve service quality and meet diverse travel needs, railway authorities have implemented flexible discounts and market-based fare mechanisms, offering more travel options. Specific fares can be checked on the 12306 ticket booking system.

Wuwei resident Han Wenting, who rode the inaugural high-speed train with her two daughters, said she had been eagerly awaiting the opening of the high-speed line in her hometown for a long time.

Han said that whenever she had traveled on other high-speed lines for work in the past, she had envied those regions and wondered whether Wuwei would ever have one. Now that her dream has come true, she said she felt excited and proud.

"The new high-speed train will make traveling with my children for vacations and other activities much more convenient, and I am delighted and happy about the rapid development of my hometown," she said.

Long Haishan, a 28-year-old member of the Tibetan ethnic group born and raised in Tianzhu, is now a high-speed train attendant for China Railway Lanzhou Bureau Group. She said she was honored to take part in the inaugural run of the route through her hometown.

"The opening of the high-speed railway has brought my hometown and other cities closer, making our travel faster and more convenient," she said. "When I learned that this route would undergo testing, I applied to join it because I wanted to witness the moment that the high-speed railway goes through my hometown."

Gao Yongsheng, deputy director of Wuwei's Regional Economic Development Research Center, said the new line can further optimize the business environment, expand distribution channels and encourage more enterprises to invest in and develop Wuwei.

The opening of the high-speed railway will also significantly enhance the urban image of Wuwei and surrounding cities and better leverage Wuwei's role as a passenger transport hub, he said.