On March 16, 2026, the People's Government of Anhui Province officially released the "Anhui Province 2026 Key Project List", and the railway construction field undoubtedly became the highlight of this list. A total of 12 railway projects have been selected, which not only demonstrates Anhui's determination to become a strong transportation province, but also indicates the deep promotion of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta and the rise of the central region strategy.

In this highly anticipated list, three highly anticipated cross provincial high-speed railway lines, including the Fuyang Huanggang section (Anhui section) of the Beijing Hong Kong high-speed railway, the Nanyang Xinyang Hefei high-speed railway, and the Suqian Sixian section of the Hefei High Speed Railway, are all listed as construction projects.

With the upcoming landing of these three major arteries, Anhui's high-speed rail network will once again expand. As of March 2026, the high-speed rail mileage in Anhui Province has reached 2971 kilometers, ranking first in the Yangtze River Delta and among the top three in the country. By the end of 2026, with the opening of multiple projects including these three lines, Anhui's high-speed rail mileage will sprint to 3331 kilometers, maintaining its leading domestic advantage.

Hexin High Speed Railway Suqian to Sixian section

The line starts from Sixian Station in Anhui Province in the south and ends at Suqian East Station in Jiangsu Province in the north. The total length of the main line is about 59 kilometers, of which the Anhui section is about 14.27 kilometers. As an important component of the Hefei Qingdao/Weifang high-speed railway, this line is crucial for the interconnection between northern Jiangsu and the hinterland of northern Anhui.

The construction process of the Hexin High Speed Railway from Suqian to Sixian can be described as a smooth sailing journey. In the past few years, the project has been in a state of planned or striving to start construction, but due to various complex factors, it has never been able to break ground as scheduled.

However, the second half of 2025 became a turning point for the project. The approval of the preliminary review and approval of the construction land for the project, as well as the joint submission of the feasibility study report by the Development and Reform Commission of Jiangsu and Anhui provinces and China Railway Group, mark that the project has entered the fast lane.

Now, both projects have been included in the list of key projects for 2026 in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces. The two provinces are taking this opportunity to work together to promote the approval of project proposals and feasibility reports. With the gradual improvement of preliminary procedures, the construction conditions for the Suqian to Sixian section of the Hexin High Speed Railway have become increasingly mature, and it is expected to officially start construction within 2026, completely ending the history of no high-speed railway connecting Suxian in northern Anhui to northern Jiangsu.

Nanyang Xinyang Hefei high-speed railway

The project route starts from Nanyang East Station in Henan Province, passes through Zhumadian and Xinyang, enters Jinzhai County in Lu'an, Anhui Province, and finally connects to Jinzhai East Station of Hewu High speed Railway. The total length of the main line is about 390 kilometers, of which the Anhui section is about 10.581 kilometers. This is an important diagonal passage connecting southern Henan and western Anhui.

The promotion speed of the Nanxinhe high-speed railway will significantly accelerate in the second half of 2025. In September 2025, the feasibility study review of the project was successfully completed; In December, the feasibility study report was approved by the board of directors of China Railway Group and officially submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission; In January 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission officially launched the evaluation process.

According to the response from the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission in March, the project proposal and feasibility study report are currently undergoing a rigorous approval process. Henan Province has explicitly set an annual goal to strive for the approval of the feasibility study report for the Nanxinhe High speed Railway.

Recently, China Railway Fourth Survey and Design Institute released a tender announcement for the subcontracting of location survey drilling and geophysical services for the Henan section of the Nanxinhe high-speed railway. This action marks that the project has moved beyond paper approval and has essentially entered the preliminary design phase. Only the final administrative approval is left before the construction of the entire line starts.

Fuyang to Huanggang section (Anhui section) of Beijing Hong Kong high-speed railway

As the core project of the Beijing Hong Kong (Taiwan) Passage West Line of the National Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals High speed Railway Network, the line starts from Fuyang West Station in Anhui Province in the north, passes through Henan and Hubei provinces in the south, and ends at Huanggang East Station. The total length of the main line is 318.1 kilometers. Its construction has strategic significance for improving the main north-south high-speed railway corridor of the country.

The project was once stalled for many years, but it experienced a dramatic acceleration in 2025. From the pre feasibility study review in July 2025 to obtaining the feasibility study approval from the National Development and Reform Commission in December, the entire preliminary approval process only took six months, creating new efficiency for similar projects.

Since the beginning of 2026, the project has been in frequent action: in February, the Huanggang section started coordinating water related services and preparing environmental impact assessment reports; In March, China Railway Fourth Engineering Group won the bid for the report preparation project for the Hubei section, and the Anhui section also issued a bidding announcement for construction drawing review, with an approved construction period of 4 years.

At present, the government work reports of Hubei, Henan, and Anhui provinces have clearly stated their efforts to start construction. Among them, Xinyang City has specifically proposed a timetable for striving to start construction before the end of September. With the first completion of the construction drawing review, the Anhui section is highly likely to become the first section to start construction on the entire line, laying a solid foundation for the full connection of the Beijing Hong Kong passage. Keywords: transportation infrastructure. high-speed railway

2026 is a crucial year for the construction of railways in Anhui province, as it marks a leap from quantity accumulation to quality improvement. The construction of these three high-speed railways will not only fill multiple gaps in the road network, but also further narrow the spatial and temporal distance between Anhui and the Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Central Plains urban agglomeration, and Yangtze River middle reaches urban agglomeration. With the achievement of the goal of 3331 kilometers of high-speed rail mileage by the end of the year, Anhui's position as the core hub of the Yangtze River Delta on the track will be unshakable.Editor/Cheng Liting