China unveils two groundbreaking projects that drastically slash travel times — and they’re packed with cutting-edge tech

China is making bigger and bigger strides in the world of high-speed rail travel, and its latest development will make travel between cities even faster and easier than ever.

According to Railway Supply, the Xi’an-Ankang High Speed Railway and Xi’an-Shiyan High Speed Railway both passed major milestones recently in their construction and development.

The Xi’an-Ankang Railway completed the structural construction of the Zhen’an West Station. This 4,000-square-meter station features four separate high-speed rail tracks and two platforms.

The 171-kilometer route (roughly 106 miles) will reduce travel time between Xi’an and Ankang from three hours to just one.

Meanwhile, the Xi’an-Shiyan Railway saw the completion of the Tianzhushan No. 2 Tunnel, an engineering marvel that spans 4,118 meters (2.6 miles) of land. This route spans 256 kilometers (around 159 miles), and with the tunnel’s help, it will cut travel time between Xi’an and Shiyan to under an hour while also halving the time it takes to get between Xi’an and Wuhan.

China’s commitment to high-speed rail has been impressive, and it remains the world leader in that space. Its new T-Flight train promises speeds faster than any train that has ever existed and could push to speeds previously only approached by aircraft. The country has also unveiled a train made entirely from carbon fiber in an effort to help cut down on pollution through its reduced weight.

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But China is not the only one in the space pushing for growth; in Canada, a high-speed train is under construction that connects Québec City and Toronto. And in Europe, Rail Baltica is making strides toward completion despite a plethora of major hurdles. The project hopes to improve the delivery of goods.

In this case, it’s not clear when China’s newest project will be complete, but it’s clear that its plan to make sure as much of the country is accessible by high-speed rail as possible is well underway.

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