Heilongjiang Expands High‑speed Rail Reach With Opening of Harbin‑Yichun Line

According to People’s Online, the Harbin‑Yichun high‑speed railway started formal operation on 28 September. As the northernmost high‑speed rail route across China, the service cuts the rail travel time between Harbin and Yichun down to roughly two hours from the previous seven‑hour journey. Following this launch, ten prefecture‑level administrative regions in Heilongjiang Province are now accessible via high‑speed railway, marking a major upgrade for the province’s comprehensive multi‑dimensional transport network.

Stretching for 318 kilometres with a designed operating speed of 250 kilometres per hour, the new line serves nine stations. It functions as a key extension to the Beijing‑Harbin‑Hong Kong‑Macao corridor within the national “Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal” high‑speed railway network. This is the country’s first high‑speed railway built across sporadic island‑shaped permafrost zones. 

Construction teams overcame formidable local constraints, including extreme winter temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius, limited working seasons in forested terrain, and complicated frozen‑ground conditions. Technical solutions were developed to stabilise roadbeds and prevent frost‑related damage to bridge structures. Environmental safeguards were enforced throughout construction to contain dust, noise and waste discharges along the corridor.

The new railway generates stronger urban connectivity across the region. The fastest journey between Harbin and Suihua now takes merely 42 minutes, facilitating commuting, educational access and medical trips for local residents. Improved transport links accelerate industrial coordination and talent mobility across neighbouring cities. For tourism development, the fastest Harbin‑Yichun trip stands at one hour and 46 minutes. The high‑speed line brings the ecological scenic spots deep within the Lesser Khingan Range onto the national passenger rail network. It supports eco‑health retreats, forest‑themed study tours and winter‑focused snow‑related tourism, helping to build an all‑season tourism framework for Heilongjiang.

With the Harbin‑Yichun high‑speed railway in service, Heilongjiang has formed a high‑speed rail layout described as “one core, one loop and two lines”. Centred on Harbin, passenger corridors run towards the central‑western area, while a circular rail route links cities across the eastern part of the province. A one‑hour and two‑hour high‑speed economic circle has taken shape. Connected to the Harbin‑Dalian high‑speed railway, this regional network is fully integrated into the national high‑speed passenger system.

Further road network expansion is scheduled for October. Four expressway projects, including the northern and south‑western ring sections of the Harbin metropolitan orbital highway, the Hegang‑Yichang and Tieli‑Keyi expressways, will open to traffic. These projects remedy expressway service gaps in the Harbin metropolitan zone, the northern Lesser Khingan forest zone and the central‑eastern provincial area. A four‑hour provincial expressway transport circle radiating outwards from Harbin continues to take shape.

Since the start of the 14th Five‑Year Plan period, Heilongjiang has prioritised comprehensive transport infrastructure development. Investment has been directed to railway, highway, civil aviation and inland waterway works. The total length of provincial high‑speed railways has surpassed 1,600 kilometres, while the expressway mileage will reach 5,700 kilometres. The second runway at Harbin Airport has been completed, establishing the airport among China’s ten major international aviation hubs. The main framework of the provincial multi‑dimensional transport network featuring “five vertical, two horizontal and one border‑hugging” corridors is taking rapid shape. External transport passages linking ten outbound provincial routes and seven border exit points deliver smoother connections for domestic and international flows of goods and people.

During the 15th Five‑Year Plan period, Heilongjiang will keep advancing transport infrastructure construction, promoting integrated operations, international outreach, safety upgrades, digital‑intelligent transformation and green transition across the transport sector. Transport infrastructure will keep releasing its driving effect to underpin high‑quality revitalisation across the province.