Chengdu-Chongqing HSR Track Laying Begins with Precision
On May 30, 2026, at 9:18 AM local time, the first 500-meter-long steel rail was laid at the Chengdu East-West Axis Extra Large Bridge construction site in Jianyang, Sichuan Province, officially commencing the full-line track laying phase of the Chengdu-Chongqing Central High-Speed Railway. The milestone marks the project’s transition from civil infrastructure construction to precision track installation, with engineering tolerances that set a new benchmark for China’s high-speed rail industry.
Precision Standards Redefined
The Chengdu-Chongqing Central HSR is being built to exacting standards that exceed typical Chinese high-speed rail specifications. Gong Wentong, technical lead for the track laying works at China Railway No.3 Bureau, stated that quality standards have been raised by a full grade. For standard 350 km/h railways, the track centerline position deviation is required to be ≤2mm, but for this project it is controlled to ≤1mm — half the usual tolerance.
Huang Xiao, Director of the Welded Rail Workshop at the Chengdu Track Maintenance Division, told China News Service that the flatness of steel rail welded joints is controlled within 0.2mm, achieving zero-error joint quality. The Shibantan Welded Rail Base has already supplied 400 kilometers of long rails, representing 69% of the total requirement, with each 500-meter rail undergoing over a dozen precision processes including welding, milling, heat treatment, straightening, and ultrasonic inspection.
Route and Technical Specifications
The 292-kilometer (181-mile) main line runs from Chengdu Station in the west to Chongqing North Station in the east, passing through Jianzhou, Lezhi, Anyue, Dazu, Tongliang, and Kexuecheng. Designed for a maximum speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), the section between Jianzhou and Dazu Shike is reserved for future 400 km/h (250 mph) operations, making it one of the most advanced high-speed rail lines under construction in China.
According to People’s Daily, the railway is a key component of the national “Eight Vertical, Eight Horizontal” high-speed rail network, specifically the Yangtze River Corridor running east-west from Shanghai through Nanjing, Hefei, Wuhan, and Chongqing to Chengdu.
Intelligent Construction Technology
The total track laying scope covers approximately 585 kilometers, including 568 kilometers of main line and 17 kilometers of station tracks, along with 66 sets of ballastless turnouts. To maximize efficiency, contractors are deploying an intelligent dual-line track layer that uses a “walk single line, lay double line” method, eliminating the need for equipment to return and turn around. The Chongqing Municipal Government noted that this approach improves efficiency by 30% compared to traditional methods.
An intelligent construction scheduling system provides real-time monitoring of all vehicles on the line, coordinating operations to prevent conflicts and ensure safety during the complex track laying process.
Strategic Significance for Western China
The Chengdu-Chongqing Central High-Speed Railway is a flagship infrastructure project under China’s national “Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle” development strategy, which aims to integrate the two megacities into a single economic unit. The region, widely regarded as the “fourth pole” of China’s economy following the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, has a combined population of over 100 million and a GDP exceeding 7 trillion yuan.
CCTV News reported that once completed, the railway will reduce travel time between Chengdu and Chongqing to approximately 50 minutes — down from the current 1.5 hours via the existing intercity high-speed rail.
As reported by Guangming Daily, the railway will “further improve the railway network structure in the Chengdu-Chongqing region, significantly reduce travel time between the two cities, and greatly facilitate travel for residents along the route.” The project also supports China’s “Western Development” strategy and will provide direct high-speed rail access to the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Looking Ahead
Upon completion, the railway will interconnect with the operational Xi’an-Chengdu and Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed railways, as well as the under-construction Xining-Chengdu and Chengdu-Dazhou-Wanzhou lines. With subgrade, bridges, and tunnel works largely completed, full-line track laying is expected to be finished by the end of 2026, followed by systems integration and testing, with revenue service targeted for 2027.
The Chengdu-Chongqing Central HSR represents a significant step forward in China’s high-speed rail ambitions, combining record-setting speed potential with precision engineering standards that set a new benchmark for the industry.