The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway is the first railway built by the people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The construction of the railway began on June 15, 1950 and was completed and opened to traffic on July 1, 1952, with a total distance of 505 kilometers. The construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway has accumulated valuable experience for the construction of the railway in New China, and at the same time, it has also opened the prelude to the large-scale economic construction of New China.
Before the construction of the railway, Sichuan had a complex topography and mainly relied on the Yangtze River system and the sheep intestine trail in the mountains to connect with the outside world. The construction of railways and trains has always been the dream goal of the people in Sichuan and Chongqing, which has lasted for thousands of years.
The construction plan of the Chengdu-Chongqing railway has a long history. As early as 1903, the Qing Dynasty proposed to build the Sichuan-Hankou Railway from Chengdu to Hankou through Chongqing, including a section of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway. In 1936, the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway Engineering Bureau was established, and the construction work began the following year. However, in July 1937, due to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, the work was forced to stop. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, only 14% of the project was completed, and the railway was still unpaved. Therefore, the people's dreams of railways in Sichuan and Chongqing are still only on the blueprints.
The party did not let the people wait any longer. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Southwest Bureau of the Communist Party of China was stationed in Chongqing. **At the enlarged meeting of the Southwest Bureau, an important decision was made to "build the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, build ships and build docks".
In March 1950, the Southwest Railway Engineering Bureau was established in Jialing New Village, Chongqing. Subsequently, in April, the first batch of engineers went to the construction site along the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway to re-survey the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway according to the ministerial standards issued by the Ministry of Railways. It was not until June 15 that the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway officially started, marking the start of this important railway project. Under the conditions of no large-scale mechanized equipment, extremely difficult construction conditions, and extremely scarce road material transportation capacity, after two years of intense day and night struggle by 100,000 soldiers and civilians, the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway with a total length of 505 kilometers was finally completed.
On July 1, 1952, more than 300,000 people in Chengdu gathered along the railway line and in the railway station square to celebrate the completion and opening of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway.
The opening of the railway opened the prelude to the economic development of Chengdu and Chongqing after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The Chengdu-Chongqing Railway runs through the Sichuan Basin, connecting Chongqing and Chengdu as well as more than a dozen other cities along the line. The construction and opening of the railway is of great significance for promoting the economic and social development of the southwest region, improving the transportation conditions, promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, and strengthening the national transportation network.