Nanning–Kunming high-speed railway (formerly known as the Yunnan–Guangxi high-speed railway[1]) is a high-speed railway connecting Nanning and Kunming, respectively the capitals of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province. It has a total length of 715.8 km (444.8 mi) of electrified double-track railway, built to the Grade 1 standard. Positioned as part of China's "long-term railway network plan", to improve the layout and the development of South-Western China with critical infrastructure, it was Yunnan Province's first high-speed transport corridor to the sea. With future Pan-Asian railways to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam planned or under construction, this railway will be seen as a crucial link between the economic powerhouse of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone and Indochina under the One Belt-One Road initiative.
History
December 27, 2009 – Construction of the Nanning–Kunming high-speed railway started.
June 20, 2011 – Xiaotuanshan tunnel breakthrough.[2]
October 2015 – Phase 1 from Nanning to Baise completed construction and testing began.[3]
December 11, 2015 – Phase 1 opened and operations from Nanning to Baise section commenced, with CRH2A trains.[4]
December 28, 2016, Phase 2 opened and operations from Baise to Kunming section commenced.[5]
Route
Construction started on December 27, 2009, with the first phase from Nanning to Baise opening on December 11, 2015. It saw 17 new stations constructed, with three more stations being renovated. Bridges and tunnels account for total length of 500 kilometres (310 mi). Built with a total investment of nearly 90 billion RMB, it was expected that the construction period would have a duration of six years.[6] Total length of the project was 709.518 km (440.874 mi), of which 274.83 km (170.77 mi) was in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and 432.183 km (268.546 mi) within Yunnan Province.
