Shizheng Railway Project

Dedicated Passenger Railway Company Limited (JSC)

Jingguang Dedicated Passenger Railway Henan Company Limited (JGHC)

The JingGuang high-speed railway (also known as the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line) is the longest high-speed rail corridor in the world and connects China’s capital in the north with Guangdong province’s capital in the south. The Shizheng railway, a 355-km dedicated high-speed passenger rail line between Shijiazhuang in Hebei province and Zhengzhou in Henan province, is a segment of the JingGuang corridor.

The Shizheng Railway Project is part of the Ministry of Railways’ (MOR) Mid- and Long-term Railway Development Plan (MLTRDP). Approved by the State Council in 2014, MLTRDP was designed to expand the national railway network and improve service quality, thus supporting sustainable economic growth in China. The objectives of the project are to meet growing freight and passenger market demand in the railway corridor between Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou while substantially improving customer service and line maintenance. The project included four components: 1) construction of the new rail line, 2) construction of new railway stations and renovation of existing railway stations along the rail line, 3) resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced persons, and 4) procurement, purchase and operation of Maintenance Vehicles (CMV).

The project was financed through a unique combination of equity from project company partners, domestic loans and bonds, and a loan from the World Bank. It improved both the quality of passenger service and maintenance of the catenary system on the line and reduced travel time between Shijiazhuang and Zhengzhou.

Financing structure

The US$ 500 million project was financed using multiple sources: 50 percent equity from the project company partners, 45 percent from domestic loans and bonds, and 5 percent from the World Bank. Compared to most World Bank transport projects in China, the ratio of World Bank financing is relatively low for the Shizheng Railway Project. This approach not only enabled the World Bank to support a wider range of railway projects within the overall lending volume (2,660 km of rail lines over six projects during the period), but also leveraged World Bank resources effectively by extending the application of World Bank requirements, especially social and environmental safeguards, over several railway projects.

CMV

System reliability and long-term operational sustainability have been improved through the use of specialized Catenary Maintenance Vehicles (CMV), the first of this kind to be used in China. Twenty domestic and eight imported CMVs are all in service, performing satisfactorily and have met all operational requirements. The new CMVs are now able to travel to sites at a maximum speed of 160 km/h, providing a fast response time to any incident or system failure on the high-speed network, as required by the current standards. The new CMVs increased system reliability by improving periodic maintenance and fault detection. Results from this project indicate that the CMVs are technically and economically efficient. Following this success, China Railway Corporation ordered many additional CMVs as part of its strengthened catenary maintenance program, thereby enhancing the sustainable operation of its high-speed rail system from this point forward.