At the end of 2025, there will be another good news for the construction of high-speed rail in Northeast Sichuan. The Sichuan Provincial Public Resource Trading Information Network has officially released the bidding announcement for the construction drawing review of the new Nanchong Guang'an Railway, marking a key stage in the substantial promotion of this transportation artery with a total investment of 19.715 billion yuan from the early preparation stage. As the core project of the "Multi level Rail Transit Plan for the Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle", this line will connect the two high-speed railway trunk lines of Chengduwan and Xiyu. When it is completed and opened to traffic in 4 years, the travel time from Nanchong to Chongqing will be reduced from 80 minutes to less than 1 hour, and from Guang'an to Chengdu will only take 70 minutes. The spatial and temporal distance between the eastern Sichuan hinterland and the Chengdu Chongqing dual core will achieve a qualitative leap.

The rapid progress of the project stems from the solid foundation laid in the early preparation. As early as August 2025, the Development and Reform Commission of Sichuan Province approved the feasibility study report of the project with the document Chuanfa Gaiji [2025] No. 401, clarifying that the route is positioned as a high standard high-speed railway. In terms of funding, Shudao Investment Group, together with Nanchong and Guang'an cities, jointly invested and combined with bank loans to form a stable structure of "capital+loans" each accounting for half. Currently, all funds have been secured to ensure the smooth progress of the project. This construction drawing review bidding adopts the "post qualification review" mode, publicly selecting professional institutions from the whole society. The scope of review covers the entire process of line design drawings, construction budgets, change plans, etc., ensuring that the engineering construction is scientific and compliant.

From the perspective of route layout, the Nan Guang high-speed railway can be regarded as the "golden connecting line" of the eastern Sichuan railway network. The total length of the line is 93.86 kilometers, including 84.23 kilometers of newly built main line. It starts from Nanchong North Station, passes through Shunqing District and Gaoping District of Nanchong, crosses Yuechi County, Guang'an District, and Huaying City of Guang'an, and finally connects to Guang'an East Station of the under construction West Chongqing High speed Railway. Along the way, a new station named Nanchong Gaoping Station will be built, and two existing stations, Yuechi Station and Guang'an South Station, will be renovated. At the same time, Nanchong North Station will be utilized to connect with Guang'an East Station, forming a "five station linkage" transportation pattern. The supporting projects are also full of highlights: the cross Jialing River section of the Nanchong East Link Line of the Lanyu Railway and some lines of the Hanba South Railway will be reused, a new Guang'an East storage yard and high-speed train running line will be built, and the Nanchong North storage yard will be expanded simultaneously. The "new construction+reuse" model will be used to achieve efficient resource utilization and reduce construction costs.

In terms of technical standards, the project benchmarking modern high-speed railway construction requirements: the main line adopts a double track design, with a speed of 250 km/h, a track spacing of 4.6 meters, a maximum gradient of 30 ‰, a minimum curve radius of 3000 meters, and a 650 meter long platform that can meet the parking needs of various EMUs. Automatic control and centralized dispatching systems are used throughout the whole process to ensure safe operation and comfort. It is worth noting that the key control engineering of the project, Guang'an Qujiang Extra Large Bridge, has completed the evaluation and approval of the impact of navigation conditions on the waterway. This 780 meter long steel-concrete double tower cable-stayed bridge with a main span of 400 meters will become the largest span railway cable-stayed bridge in Sichuan Province, and its construction technology difficulty and engineering scale are at the forefront of the region.

As a key link in the interconnection of the Northeast Sichuan Economic Zone, the strategic value of the South Guangzhou High speed Railway far exceeds that of transportation itself. One end of the line is connected to the Dawan High speed Railway and the Hanba South High speed Railway, while the other end is connected to the West Chongqing High speed Railway, which can connect the national "Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals" high-speed railway channels such as the Yangtze River and Baoyin Sea, deeply integrating the eastern Sichuan region into the national high-speed railway network. For local development, the completion of the project can not only significantly improve residents' travel efficiency (currently the fastest high-speed railway from Nanchong to Guang'an takes 43 minutes, which will be further compressed in the future), but also release the freight capacity of the Lanzhou Chongqing Railway, inject material flow energy into the development of industries such as grain and oil, light industry, and cultural tourism along the line, and promote the integration of industries and cultural tourism among the five cities in northeastern Sichuan. At the same time, during the construction period, it will drive job growth, and after completion, it is expected to bring more than 10 million passenger flow dividends to the region every year, helping Nanchong build an open gateway to Northeast Sichuan and Guang'an integrate into the Chongqing metropolitan area.

According to the plan, the construction period of the Nanjing Guangzhou high-speed railway is 4 years, and it is expected to be officially opened and put into operation in 2029. With the launch of construction drawing review bidding, subsequent construction bidding, site leveling and other work will be gradually promoted. This high-speed railway trunk line connecting the two important cities in eastern Sichuan is not only an important puzzle of the "dual city economic circle on the track", but also a livelihood project that promotes regional coordinated development and helps the five districts to prosper together. In the future, it will connect the flow of people, logistics, and capital through steel veins, fully unleashing the development vitality of the hinterland of Northeast Sichuan, and writing a brilliant chapter in the construction of the Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle.Editor/Bian Wenjun