Guiyang-Nanning HSR marks 1st anniversary with 2.7m passengers

A sleek train cruises effortlessly along the Guiyang-Nanning High-Speed Railway. [Photo/Colorful Guizhou network]

Aug 31 marked the first anniversary of the full operation of the Guiyang-Nanning High-Speed Railway – allowing folks in the railway industry, in government and other interested parties to pause for reflection on the extent of the achievement.

Over the past year, the section in Southwest China's Guizhou province has put in a particularly impressive performance, with nearly 200 daily trains and over 2.7 million passengers transported.

The Guiyang-Nanning High-Speed Railway – starting in Guiyang, capital city of Guizhou and ending in Nanning, capital city of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region – is the region's first high-speed rail line designed for speeds of 350 kilometers per hour.

This crucial transportation artery now connects the Southwest with China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network.

The railway has significantly reduced travel times between Guiyang and Nanning from 5 hours to 3 hours and from Guiyang to Libo to just 1 hour – transforming the Guiyang-Libo route into what's been called a popular "golden tourism line."

Over the past year, the number of daily trains at Libo Railway Station has increased from 20 to over 70, with daily passenger numbers growing from 4,000 to over 20,000. On Oct 1, 2023, Libo station set a record by transporting 30,000 passengers in a single day.

The surge in high-speed rail passengers has driven a corresponding increase in tourists to Libo county.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays in 2023, Libo county received 1.26 million visitors, a whopping 618.57-percent year-on-year increase.

To meet the growing demand, operator China Railway Chengdu Group has added more than 60 peak-hour trains since July 1, further boosting the railway's capacity.