Hefei–Fuzhou High-Speed Railway , is a dual-track

Double track

A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...

, electrified

Railway electrification system

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...

, passenger-dedicated, high-speed rail line

High-speed rail in China

High-speed rail in China refers to any commercial train service in the China with an average speed of or higher. By that measure, China has the world's longest high-speed rail network with about of routes in service as of June 2011 including of rail lines with top speeds of...

, under construction in eastern China. The line is named after its two terminal cities, Hefei

Hefei

Hefei is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui...

 and Fuzhou

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

. It has a total length of 806 kilometres and runs through Anhui

Anhui

Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...

, Jiangxi

Jiangxi

' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...

 and Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province. Construction began on April 27, 2010 and is slated to be completed in 2014. The line will require total investment of about ¥109.8 billion. Trains will reach top speeds of 250 kilometres per hour on this line. Travel time by train from Hefei to Fuzhou will be reduced from fourteen to four hours. The railway is part of the future Beijing–Taipei High-Speed Rail Corridor

Beijing–Taipei High-Speed Rail Corridor

The Beijing–Taipei High-Speed Railway Corridor a proposed high-speed railway corridor, connecting Beijing and Taipei, in Taiwan. The railway will share track with Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway between Beijing and Bengbu; between Bengbu and Hefei, it is known as Hefei–Bengbu High-Speed...

.

Cities and towns along route include Changlinhe, Chaohu, Wuwei

Wuwei County

Wuwei County is a district in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Chaohu City. It has population of 1,400,000 and an area of . The government of Wuwei County is located in Wecheng Town....

, Tongling

Tongling

Tongling is a prefecture-level city in southern Anhui province, People's Republic of China. A river port along the Yangtze River, Tongling borders Chaohu to the north, Wuhu to the east, Chizhou to the southwest and Anqing to the west....

, Nanling

Nanling County

Nanling County is a county of Anhui Province, China. It is under the administration of Wuhu city....

, Jingxian

Jing County, Anhui

Jing County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng City. It has a population of 360,000 and an area of . The government of Jing County is located in Chengguang Town....

, Jingde

Jingde County

Jingde County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng City. It has a population of 150,000 and an area of . The government of Jingde County is located in Jingyang Town.Jingde County has jurisdiction over five towns and five townships....

, Jixi

Jixi County

Jixi County is a county in Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng City. It has a population of 180,000 and an area of . Jixi borders Lingan in the east, Ningguo and Jingde in the south, and Taiping to the west...

 and Huangshan in Anhui, Wuyuan

Wuyuan County, Jiangxi

Wuyuan County is a county of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Shangrao.- Demographics :The population of the district was in 1999....

 and Shangrao

Shangrao

Shangrao is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of China's Jiangxi province. According to the 2010 Census, Shangrao has a population of 6,579,714 inhabitants....

 in Jiangxi, and Wuyishan

Wuyishan (city)

Wuyishan is a county-level city in the municipal region of Nanping, Fujian province, China.-Natural and Cultural Heritage:A local subsection of the Wuyishan Mountain range, which forms the entirety of the geological and political divide between the provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi, is a front-rank...

, Jianou, Gutian

Gutian County

Gutian County , also known as Edible Mushroom County, is a county lying in the southwest of Ningde, Fujian province, China. It is also known as "the town of the former worthy", as Zhuxi, a famous Chinese scholar once lived there...

, Nanping

Nanping

Nanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...

 and Minqing in Fujian.

The Hefu passenger-dedicated line (PDL) constitutes a portion of the proposed Beijing-Taipei High Speed Railway, which would tunnel under the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

 from Fuzhou to the island of Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. The northern section of this project is being built as the section of the Beijing-Shanghai PDL from Beijing to Bengbu

Bengbu

Bengbu , formerly known as P'engpu and Peng-pu, is a prefecture-level city with a population of 3,164,467 at the last census in northern Anhui Province, People's Republic of China...

. A high-speed rail spur

Hebeng Passenger Railway

Hefei–Bengbu High-Speed Railway is a 130.67 km high-speed rail line between Hefei and Bengbu in Anhui province, China under construction since January 2009. It is expected to be put into service by 2013. The total estimated investment is 13.6 billion yuan. The design speed is 350 km/h...

 will connect Bengbu and Hefei. The Hefu PDL would then extend the line to Fuzhou on the western shores of the Taiwan Strait. Political differences between mainland China and Taiwan complicate plans to extend the line by tunnel to Taipei.

Route

The Hefu PDL connects the plains of central China and the southeastern coast. It is one of several projects that the Chinese government has undertaken to develop rail infrastructure along the western shores of the Taiwan Strait

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait or Formosa Strait, formerly known as the Black Ditch, is a 180-km-wide strait separating Mainland China and Taiwan. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to East China Sea to the northeast...

. Most of the line runs through mountainous regions, including scenic areas of Huangshan and Wuyi Mountains

Wuyi Mountains

The Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in the northern border of Fujian province with Jiangxi province, China. The mountains cover an area of 60 km². In 1999, Mount Wuyi entered UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural...

, both UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 World Heritage Sites. Of the 339.4 km of tracks in Anhui, 81.6% will be laid on bridges and in tunnels. The longest of the line's 170 bridges and 54 tunnels will be the Tongling Yangtze River Railroad Bridge at 52.05 km.

History

• July 29, 2009: The Hefei-Fuzhou railway project is approved by the State Development and Planning Commission.
• Dec. 22, 2009: Project announced by the Ministry of Railway
  Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China
  The Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China is a member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China...
  
  in Zhengzhou.
• April 27, 2010: Construction began on the Hefu PDL.