The Chongqing-Lichuan Railway, or the Yuli Railway is a railway under construction in the Chinese province of Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

 and the municipality of Chongqing

Chongqing

Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...

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The 244-km long railway will connect Chongqing North Railway Station

Chongqing North Railway Station

Chongqing North Railway Station is a railway station located in Yubei District of Chongqing City, People's Republic of China. It will be served by the Yuhuai Railway, Suiyu Railway and Yuli Railway, by Ministry of Railways of the PRC.-References:...

 with the Lichuan Station on the Yiwan Railway

Yiwan Railway

The Yichang–Wanzhou Railway, or the Yiwan Railway connects the cities of Yichang and Wanzhou via Lichuan, in the central People's Republic of China. It was completed in 2010, and will be part of the future Huhanrong Passenger Dedicated Line from Shanghai to Wuhan to Chengdu...

, and thus provide direct access from Chongqing to the future Huhanrong Passenger Dedicated Line

Huhanrong Passenger Dedicated Line

Shanghai–Wuhan–Chengdu Passenger Dedicated Line , is a partially completed high-speed railway corridor in People's Republic of China. The chinese name of the railway line, Huhanrong, is a combination of the abbreviations for Shanghai , Wuhan , and Chengdu , three major cities along the line.The...

, which extends to Wuhan

Wuhan

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...

, Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

, and Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

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The trains will be traveling on the Yuli line with the speed up to 200 km/h. It is said that when the Yuli Railway and the relevant sections of the Huhanrong mainline are completed, one will be able to travel from Chongqing to Shanghai in just 8 hours.

Construction history

Construction work started in the late 2008; the plans are for it to be completed within 4 years.