In the past few years, the country's high-speed rail has entered the large-scale development mode, with the country's strict control of debt, coupled with the high-speed rail loss line more, so the high-speed rail construction situation has slowed down in recent years.
Every year, when the national railway formulates the construction plan, it is also relatively cautious, but China's high-speed rail is not all dominated by the national railway. At present, more and more intercity railways have been implemented by the provinces themselves, and the construction of high-speed railways in various provinces and municipalities is still unabated.
We continue to take stock of the high-speed railways that are expected to start construction this year, and in the first part we focused on describing three, namely the Changjiang-Jiangxi high-speed railway, the Yifu high-speed railway, and the Miansui railway.
All three high-speed railways have one thing in common, that is, they are all located in the Midwest. The focus of national policy is tilted, this is for sure, but whether it means that the construction of high-speed rail in the southeast coastal provinces has slowed down, the answer is obviously no.
Because the coastal areas have developed economies, high population density, and good benefits of high-speed rail, the momentum of high-speed rail construction in coastal areas is still unabated.
Take Guangdong as an example, it is difficult to find a ticket during the Spring Festival every year, and this year is still the peak period for the construction of high-speed rail in Guangdong. Last year, Guangdong Province had a number of projects under construction, such as the Shenzhen-Jiangxi high-speed railway, the Meilong high-speed railway, the Guangzhou-Zhanjiang high-speed railway, and the Zhangshan high-speed railway. There are still three projects expected to start this year: Hepu-Zhanjiang high-speed railway, Zhanjiang-Haikou high-speed railway, and Wuping-Meizhou section of Longyan-Longchuan high-speed railway.
Guangdong's high-speed rail is also very interesting, basically in the non-Pearl River Delta cities, in recent years, Guangdong has made Zhanjiang and Shantou provincial sub-central cities, and the focus of high-speed rail construction is also tilting towards these two regions, which can further narrow the regional development gap in the province.
The three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta region have always been the top priority of China's high-speed rail construction. At present, a number of key projects such as the high-speed railway along the Yangtze River and the Beijing-Shanghai Second Corridor are under construction, and major cities have basically achieved full coverage of high-speed rail. The next step is the interconnection of intercity railways.
This year, the Yangtze River Delta region is still promoting the Ningxuan high-speed railway and the Heqing high-speed railwayFrom Suqian to Sixian section, it is difficult for these projects to start construction within the year. However, the main trunk line of the Yangtze River Delta has been basically connected, and the intercity impact of these regions is not large.
The central and western provinces and coastal provinces are not greatly affected under the new high-speed rail regulations, but the northern region is not optimistic.
Take the Northeast region as an example, it is the region with the longest railway mileage and the highest density in China, but in recent decades, the economic development of the Northeast region has been limited, and the population loss is serious, which also restricts the construction of high-speed rail.
In 2024, there will be basically no new high-speed rail projects in the entire three northeastern provinces.
As a strong province in the north, Shandong has made proud achievements in the construction of high-speed rail in 2023, and with the opening of the Jizheng high-speed railway and Lairong high-speed railway, Shandong's high-speed rail mileage ranking has been greatly improved. At the same time, there are also Jibin high-speed railway, Jizao high-speed railway, Beijing-Shanghai second channel and Qingdao connecting route, and other projects have started construction.
In 2024, although Shandong has no plans to start new projects, relying on these high-speed railways that have already started, Shandong will not lag behind in the next few years.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as the economic center of the north, especially with the construction of the Xiong'an New Area, has also experienced several years of rapid development of high-speed rail, and now several railways connecting Xiong'an have been completed or are under construction.
Shixiong Intercity, which is currently progressing relatively smoothly, is expected to start construction in 2024.
It can be seen from the inventory of this issue that throughout 2024, the construction of high-speed rail in developed coastal provinces represented by Guangdong has advanced by leaps and bounds. The northern region, represented by the three eastern provinces, is relatively less optimistic.
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