The city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province is on its way to becoming a transportation center for China’s Northeast with the focus on the expansion of the railway infrastructure and stations. Harbin had one of the key transportation hubs under the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-15), then began renovation and expansion work on its railway hub on Dec 1, 2015.

The new 4-year project, costing 6.5 billion yuan ($1 billion), includes railway yards, stations, waiting rooms, and auxiliary facilities for both the Harbin West and Harbin East stations. Work on the Harbin-Mudanjiang passenger line and Harbin-Jiamusi high speed line, and a bridge is already underway.

Artist’s rendering of the Harbin Railway Station’s north terminal. [Photo/my399.com]

The ground-breaking ceremony for the Harbin–Mudanjiang line took place in September 2014. Its highest speed will be 250 km/hr and the 302-km railway will cut travel time from Harbin to Mudanjiang to less than 40 minutes.

The 343-km Harbin-Jiamusi line has a designated speed of 200 km/hr and 14 stops and will cut the travel time between the two from more than 7 hours to less than 120 minutes. when they are completed in 2018, the lines will be part of a network that includes the Harbin-Qiqihar high-speed that opened on Aug 17, 2015.
 

Aerial rendering of the Harbin Railway Station and the square in front. [Photo/my399.com]