Rail hub construction starts

Construction work on a new CNY 4.1 billion (US$ 512 million) railway station has got underway in the city of Wuhan in central China. According to the Chinese Railway Ministry, the new station will have capacity to handle up to 31 million passengers each year and will be a national railway hub when it is completed in 2008.

The 37000 square metre station will have 20 tracks and 10 platforms and handle high speed rail links with Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Guangzhou. Completion of the new hub in Wuhan will cut travel times from the city to Beijing and Guangzhou by half, to less than five hours.

The construction of this rail hub, China’s fourth, is part of the Railway Ministry’s five year CNY 35 billion (US$ 4.4 billion) railway investment plan.