The bidding process for the new Wuhan Hub Direct Line project, with a total investment of 33.74 billion yuan, has officially begun, marking the substantive construction preparation stage of this transportation artery known as the "Hubei Tianzi No.1". As a key project in the construction of transportation infrastructure in Hubei Province and even the whole country, the promotion of this project will further weave the high-speed rail network in Central China, injecting strong impetus into regional coordinated development.

The project is located within the territory of Hubei Province, and the planned route connects important cities such as Xiaogan and Wuhan, with an overall east-west direction. The line starts from Yunmeng East Station of the Han Shi High speed Railway in the west, passes through Xiaogan South Station in the east, and enters Wuhan to set up key stations such as Xinyang Station. Finally, it connects to multiple main lines such as the Wuhan Jiujiang High speed Railway and the Wuhan Guangzhou High speed Railway through connecting lines. The newly built main line is about 72.19 kilometers long, including supporting facilities such as connecting lines and construction projects. Among them, the section of the Baishazhou dual-use Yangtze River Bridge commissioned for construction has become an important component of the project as it is inseparable from the main railway structure. In terms of technical standards, the line segments adopt design speeds of 350 kilometers per hour and 250 kilometers per hour, taking into account efficient traffic and regional coverage requirements.

As the core node of the project, the new Hanyang Station has a planned scale of 13 units and 24 lines, with a station building area of 150000 square meters. It adopts an elevated station building design and will soon implement the construction of 7 units and 12 lines. This planned high-speed railway hub, the largest in Hubei Province, will achieve interconnectivity of high-speed railway lines such as Wuxi, Wujingyi, and Wujiu after completion. It will not only share the passenger flow pressure of Hankou Station and Wuhan Station, but also break the pattern of "strong in the east and weak in the west" of Wuhan Railway and promote balanced development of the three towns. In addition, the construction of Xiaogan South Station and the renovation of Wulongquan South and East Stations will further improve the layout of regional stations and strengthen the connection between urban and rural transportation.

From the perspective of industrial value and social significance, the total planned construction period of the project is 5 years. After completion, it will become a key part of the Fuyin high-speed railway corridor, significantly reducing the travel time from the northwest region to the Pearl River Delta. Among them, the travel time from Xi'an to Jiujiang can be saved by 23 minutes. At the same time, as a catalyst for regional coordinated development, the route will accelerate the flow of resources and industrial cooperation along the route through efficient transportation connections, enhancing Wuhan's hub position in the national transportation pattern. The industrial chain links such as engineering construction and building materials supply driven by the project launch will create a large number of employment opportunities and inject vitality into local economic development.

At present, the project has completed multiple preparatory work in the early stage and plans to carry out construction bidding in December 2025, steadily advancing towards the goal of starting construction by the end of the year. This "golden route" carrying the travel expectations of millions of people and the hope of regional development is about to lay a construction picture on the Jianghan Plain. In the future, it will surely write a new chapter of high-quality development in Central China with high-speed trains.

In addition to the construction of core projects, the project will also simultaneously promote multiple supporting facilities and ecological protection measures, making this transportation artery run faster and go further. In terms of supporting facilities along the line, the project will build new infrastructure such as traction substations and communication base stations, and simultaneously plan and construct station plazas, transportation transfer centers, and municipal road connecting lines to achieve seamless connection between high-speed rail and urban buses, subways, and long-distance passenger transportation. Taking Xin Hanyang Station as an example, the planned transfer center will integrate subway lines 11 and 17 with ground bus hubs, allowing passengers to complete multiple transfers without leaving the station, greatly improving travel convenience.

Ecological protection and engineering construction will be promoted synchronously. For sensitive areas such as the wetlands in the Jianghan Plain and the ecological corridor of the Yangtze River that the route passes through, the project will adopt environmentally friendly design schemes such as bridge crossings and tunnel crossings to reduce damage to surface vegetation and water bodies; During the construction period, strict dust control and noise protection measures will be implemented, and slope greening and soil and water conservation projects will be carried out simultaneously. It is planned to plant more than 200000 square meters of soil fixing plants to create a "green high-speed railway corridor". At the same time, the project will adopt new technologies such as energy-saving traction power supply system and low-noise track structure to minimize the environmental impact during the operation phase and achieve harmonious coexistence between engineering construction and ecological protection.Editor/Bian Wenjun