Into the Fast Lane

By Wang Hairong

The first train on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-Speed Railway darted out of the Beijing North Railway Station on December 30， 2019， loaded with significance. It marked the offi cial launch of the railway connecting two co-host cities of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games， Beijing and Zhangjiakou in neighboring Hebei Province.

The railway shortens travel time between the two cities to 47 minutes from over 3 hours. It has a maximum designed speed of 350 km per hour.

Launched some 110 years after the inauguration of the countrys fi rst independently built railway linking the same two cities， the new line is the smartest high-speed railway in China， with 5G signals， wireless charging and other intelligent systems. Thanks to the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System， the train can automatically start， run between stations and adjust its timing according to the schedule.

Problems such as aging parts and damaged lights can be detected by sensors in real time. Robots can guide passengers or carry their luggage. Travelers can check in online or by face scanning.

More importantly， the 174-km railway is a step to put the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region into the fast lane.