Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway

Beijing–Tianjin
intercity railway
Beijing–Tianjin; intercity railway
	A CR400BF high-speed train at the Tianjin railway station.
Overview
Native name	京津城际铁路
Status	Operational
Owner	China Railway
Locale	Beijing; Tianjin
Termini	Beijing South; Phase I Tianjin; Phase II Yujiapu
Stations	Phase I 5; Phase II 4; Total 9
Service
Type	High-speed rail
Services	1
Operator(s)	China Railway High-speed
History
Opened	Phase I 1 August 2008; Phase II 20 September 2015
Technical
Line length	Phase I 117 km (73 mi); Phase II 44 km (27 mi); Total 161 km (100 mi)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm);
Operating speed	350 km/h (217.5 mph) (design) 350 km/h (217.5 mph) (current service)
Route map
	Legend
	Airport Branchline
	to
	Tianjin-Qinhuangdao HSR
	to Qinhuangdao

The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway (simplified Chinese: 京津城际铁路; traditional Chinese: 京津城際鐵路; pinyin: Jīng-Jīn chéngjì tiělù) is a Chinese high-speed railway that runs 117 km line (72.7 statute miles) between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains traveling at a maximum speed of 350 km/h (217 mph), and currently carries CRH high-speed trains running speeds up to 350 km/h (217 mph) since August 2018.^[1]

When the line opened on August 1, 2008, it set the record for the fastest conventional train service in the world by top speed, and reduced travel time between the two largest cities in northern China from 70 to 30 minutes.^[2]^[3] A second phase of construction extended this line from Tianjin to Yujiapu railway station in the Binhai New Area was opened on September 20, 2015.^[4]

The line is projected to approach operating capacity in the first half of 2016. Anticipating this, a second parallel line, the Beijing–Binhai intercity railway, commenced construction on December 29, 2015.^[5] It will run from Beijing Sub-Center railway station to Binhai railway station via Baodi and Tianjin Binhai International Airport, along a new route to the northeast of the Beijing–Tianjin ICR.

Route and stations[]

Viaduct on the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway.

Beijing to Tianjin[]

From Beijing South railway station, the line runs in a southeasterly direction, following the Beijing–Tianjin–Tanggu Expressway to Tianjin. It has three intermediate stations at Yizhuang, Yongle (not yet fully built) and Wuqing. The line currently uses the Jinshan Railway for some extended services to Tanggu. The service has peak speed between cities.

As an intercity line, it will provide train service only between the two metropolitan areas, unlike the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway which will continue beyond Shanghai.

The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway has a current length of 116.939 km (fare mileage: 120 km), of which roughly 100 km is built on viaducts and the last 17 kilometres on an embankment. The elevated track ensures level tracks over uneven terrain and eliminates the trains having to slow down to safely navigate through at-grade road crossings.

Tianjin railway station

Extension to Binhai New Area[]

Sometimes known as the Tianjin–Binhai intercity railway, this 44.68 km (28 mi) extension continues southeasterly from Tianjin railway station, following the conventional railway to Tanggu railway station but built on elevated piers with three new stations were to be added. It passes a maintenance depot at Airport West, through Junliangcheng North railway station to Tanggu railway station before entering a tunnel to an underground station, Yujiapu railway station.^[6]

Junctions have been built along the line allowing services to branch off to a new station under Tianjin Binhai International Airport and to Binhai West railway station on the Tianjin–Qinhuangdao High-Speed Railway. Trial operations of the extension started on August 14, 2015, with official opening on September 20, 2015. the railway reduced travel times from Beijing South station to Yujiapu station to 1 hour 02 minutes and from Tianjin railway station to Yujiapu to 23 minutes.^[7]

Yujiapu railway station

Service[]

"5100" brand mineral water. A passenger can get a complimentary bottle on showing his or her intercity train ticket

These intercity trains are designated by the prefixed "C" (城) followed by four digits, from C2001 to C2298. Of these, C2001–C2198 are non-stop trains from Beijing South to Tianjin. The odd numbers for trains departing from Beijing South and even numbers for those running to Beijing South. Trains numbered C2201–C2268 are trains from Beijing South and Tianjin that stop on the way at Wuqing and Yizhuang stations. Trains C2271–C2298 run from Beijing South to Tanggu.

The line opened on August 1, 2008 with 47 daily pairs of intercity trains between Beijing South and Tianjin. Since September 14, 2008, 10 more pairs of trains were added, reducing the minimum interval from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. On September 24, 2008, 4 pairs of trains extended to Tanggu along the conventional railway. On September 28, 2008, 2 more pairs of trains were added into service. Frequencies have consistently been increased since to cope with rising demand, reaching 136 pairs of trains operating daily by 2018.^[8]

In addition to the intercity service, 13 pairs of trains were diverted to this line from the preexisting Beijing-Shanghai (Jinghu) Railway, including trains from Beijing South to Jinan, Qingdao, Shanghai, and Tianjin West. With the opening of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway, these trains have been diverted to the new line.

Tickets[]

Tickets bought at high-speed railway stations are blue magnetic tickets, different from the regular pink tickets

Beginning early 2009, "Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Concession Card" frequent rider stored-value cards were introduced for use on this line. Standard Card holders are allowed unreserved seating in the reserved Second Class carriage, Car 6. Gold Card holders are allocated a few reserved seats in Car 5, which is the First Class carriage. To comply with new ticket ID rules effective June 1, 2011, new and upgraded cards are linked to a document of identity.

Train services running through the Tanggu extension implemented "commuter" fares as of June 1, 2017. According to the new scheme, a discount of 5.85% will be applied to trips using the Tanggu extension, making a second class ticket from Tianjin to Yujiapu costing ¥12 and a second class ticket from Beijing to Yujiapu costing ¥54.5. Additional discounts using the "Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Concession Card" will also still apply.^[9]

Technical information[]

The line is the first railway in China to be built for operational speeds above 300 km/h. This railway line allows speeds up to 350 km/h.^[10] A trip between Beijing and Tianjin takes 30 minutes.^[11]

Rolling stock[]

Before mid-2009, the railway used CRH2 trains for service. With effect from mid-2009, only CRH3 trains are used for intercity services on the line. Since August 2020 all CRH3 trains have been replaced with Fuxing trains.^[8] High-speed services to Ji'nan, Qingdao and Shanghai, which used to run on this route, are now diverted to the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway. A pair of special track examination trains (numbered DJ01/02) run every day in the morning before any regular trains into service. A track-measuring train (numbered DJ5581/2) runs every ten days.

Signaling system[]

The signaling system is built around electronic interlockings, Vicos operations control system and ETCS Level 1 train control system.^[12]

Overhead catenary system[]

The catenary system in use is HA, aluminum cantilever,^[12] powered by two sub-stations at 25 kV 50 Hz AC.

Speed record[]

On June 24, 2008 a Chinese conventional-wheeled train speed record was set on the line when a Siemens Velaro-derived China Railways CRH3 train reached 394.3 km/h.^[11]

History[]

Construction of the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity High-Speed Rail Line began on July 4, 2005.^[13]
In April 2006, Siemens and its consortium partners EEB (Electrification Engineering Bureau) and CRSC (China National Railway Signal & Communication Corporation) were awarded a contract by the Chinese Ministry of Railways (MoR) to supply and install the signaling systems, communications equipment and power supplies as well as the overhead line and to take over responsibility for system integration and overall project management.^[12]
On May 11, 2007 the first interlocking container for the Beijing-Tianjin line left the Siemens factory in Brunswick, Germany. (This container had been the 1,000th container shipped from the factory overall).^[14]
August 1, 2008, The initial line between Beijing and Tianjin opens to traffic in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
September 16, 2009, the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway Co. began construction on Tanggu Extension. Before construction was completed, services were to operate along the parallel conventional railway to Tanggu.^[15]
In 2011, following the Wenzhou train crash, maximum speeds were reduced to 300 km/h, with rides taking only three minutes longer than usual. There have been slight drops in fares to accompany the temporary speed limits.
August 14, 2015, construction of the Tanggu Extension was completed and testing of the new line began.
September 20, 2015, the Tanggu Extension was opened for revenue service, allowing for travel between Beijing South and Yujiapu Stations in one hour 02 minutes and Tianjin to Yujiapu stations in 23 minutes.^[4]
350 km/h operations were restored on August 2018 with the introduction of Fuxing trains.^[16]

Ridership[]

Before the line was finished, it was expected that the railway line would handle 32 million passengers in 2008 and 54 million passengers in 2015.^[17]

The line opened on August 1, 2008 just before the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics, which held some football matches in Tianjin. The introduction of high-speed rail service significantly boosted rail travel between the two cities. In 2007, conventional train service between Beijing and Tianjin delivered 8.3 million rides. In the first year of high-speed rail service, from August 2008 to July 2009, total rail passenger volume between Beijing and Tianjin reached 18.7 million, of which 15.85 million rode the Intercity trains.^[18] Meanwhile, during the same period, ridership on intercity buses fell by 36.8%.^[19] As of September 2010, daily ridership averaged 69,000 or an annual rate of 25.2 million.^[20] The line has a capacity of delivering 100 million rides annually^[21] and initial estimated repayment period of 16 years.^[20]

From 2008 to 2013, ridership grew at an annual rate of 20% reaching a cumulative 88 million passengers.^[22] In the first half of 2018 the line was carrying over 82,000 passengers each day.^[1]

Finances[]

At the start of construction, an expected ¥12.3 billion (US$1.48 billion) was expected to be invested into the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway.^[13] At the time of construction, the Ministry of Railways and the Tianjian government had each contributed ¥2.6 billion (US$325 million) to the project, while the central government requisitioned land and paid for the resettlement of those affected.^[17] However, it would later cost $2.34 billion to build.^[23]

As of 2010, the line cost ¥1.8 billion per annum to operate, including ¥0.6 billion in interest payments on its ¥10 billion of loan obligations.^[20] The terms of the loans range from 5–10 years at interest rates of 6.3 to 6.8 percent.^[20] In its first year of operation from August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009, the line generated ¥1.1 billion in revenues on 18.7 million rides delivered and incurred a loss of ¥0.7 billion. In the second year, ridership rose to 22.3 million and revenues improved to ¥1.4 billion, which narrowed to below ¥0.5 billion.^[20] To break even, the line must deliver 30 million rides annually.^[20] To be able to repay principal, ridership would need to exceed 40 million.^[20] As of 2012, Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway officially reported to break even financially, defined as operational costs with debt payments is matched with revenue.^[24] By 2015, the line is operating with an operational profit.^[25]