At 12:45 on December 23, the D4667 train from Baotou to Yinchuan entered Yinchuan Station, marking the completion of the Baoyin high-speed railway, and our country's "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed rail network from Beijing to Lanzhou has since been fully connected. On the 24th, Lanzhou West Railway Station opened the first direct high-speed rail train from Lanzhou to Baotou, shortening the whole journey time to about 6 hours.
The reporter learned from the Lanzhou Railway Bureau that the Baoyin high-speed railway starts from Baotou Station, passes through Baotou City, Bayannur City, Ordos City, Wuhai City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shizuishan City and Yinchuan City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and connects to Yinchuan Station, with a total length of 519 kilometers and a design speed of 250 kilometers per hour, and implements sectional construction. Among them, the Huinong to Yinchuan section has a total length of 97 kilometers and has been put into operation in October 2024, and the Baotou to Huinong section opened this time has a total length of 422 kilometers, with a total of 10 stations in Baotou, Baiyanhua West, Urat Qianqi, Wuyuan, Bayannur, Dankou, Alkali Cabinet, Wuhai, Wuhai South and Huinong South, of which Baotou, Bayannur, Wuhai and Huinong South Stations are existing stations, and the rest of the stations are new stations.
As a key link in the Jinglan channel of the national "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway network, the Baoyin high-speed railway is closely connected with the Yinlan high-speed railway, the Yinxi high-speed railway, and the Beijing-Baoluo high-speed railway, connecting the grassland steel city Baotou and the important town of Yinchuan on the Silk Road. The opening of high-speed rail has greatly reduced the time and space distance between cities, making the connection between Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, North China and Northeast China more and more closely connected with Ningxia and the hinterland of Northwest China, and helping the coordinated development of the Yellow River "several bends" region to a new level.
In the early stage of operation, the Baohui section of the Baoyin high-speed railway operated at a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour, and up to 12 trains were arranged every day, including 7 cross-line EMU trains. After the map adjustment in the first quarter of 2026, it is planned to operate EMU trains between Beijing and Yinchuan and Lanzhou to further reduce the time and space distance between Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and the northwest region. Baotou to Huinong South and Yinchuan can be reached in 2 hours and 7 minutes and 2 hours and 38 minutes respectively, which is 2 hours and 29 minutes and 3 hours and 20 minutes respectively compared with the current general speed passenger trains. The fastest time from Hohhot to Yinchuan and Lanzhou can be reached in 4 hours and 03 minutes and 7 hours and 27 minutes respectively, which is compressed by 3 hours and 54 minutes and 2 hours and 59 minutes respectively compared with the current fastest passenger trains. In order to meet the different travel needs of passengers, the railway department implements a flexible discount and differentiated market-oriented fare mechanism in the Baohui section of the Baoyin high-speed railway to provide more choices for passengers to travel, and the specific fare can be queried through the railway 12306.
In terms of train services, the stations along the Baoyin high-speed railway under the jurisdiction of the Lanzhou Railway Bureau have also simultaneously upgraded their service guarantees, giving full play to the leading role and location advantages of the railway in the comprehensive transportation system, focusing on improving the quality of transportation supply, and taking flexible and diverse measures such as increasing the peak line of EMUs, reconnecting of EMUs, and adding vehicles to ordinary speed trains by strengthening daily passenger flow analysis, so as to provide a solid capacity guarantee for passenger travel.
After the full completion of the Baoyin high-speed railway, Huinong South Station was transformed from a terminal station to an intermediate station. In order to facilitate the travel of passengers, the station has comprehensively optimized the flow line of passenger transport organization, added yellow, purple and green landmarks to the platform, and carefully planned and adjusted all aspects of passenger entry, waiting and boarding to ensure that the passenger boarding and disembarking process is safe, orderly, efficient and smooth.
"In the past, it took most of the day to travel between Baoyin and Baoyin, but now it can be reached directly in less than 3 hours!" Ms. Li, a passenger who had just gotten off the train, said excitedly.
It is reported that after the opening of the Baoyin high-speed railway, it will fill the "last link" of the high-speed railway network in the northwest region, which will greatly facilitate the travel of the people along the line, promote exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups, and inject strong impetus into the new pattern of large-scale development of the western region. (Reporter He Yixuan, Correspondent Song Jialong)