On April 3, 2026, Henan Railway Construction Investment Group disclosed that the feasibility study, consultation, evaluation, and industry review of the Nanyang Xinyang Hefei railway have been successfully passed, and the project has officially entered a new stage of accelerated implementation. This review, jointly organized by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Railway Administration, is another important milestone after the approval of the project proposal on March 16th, laying a solid foundation for the construction of the entire Nanxinhe Railway.

The line connects Henan and Anhui provinces, linking the Yangtze River Delta region

The Nanxinhe Railway is listed as a key project in the national "14th Five Year Plan" for railway development. The line starts from Nanyang East Station of Zhengyu High speed Railway, runs eastward along the Ningxi Railway Passage, passes through Nanyang, Zhumadian, Xinyang and Lu'an in Anhui, and ends at Jinzhai East Station of Shanghai Chongqing Chengdu Yangtze River High speed Railway, relying on the Hefei hub to efficiently connect the Yangtze River Delta. The total length of the main line of the project is 515 kilometers, including 390 kilometers of newly built lines, 379 kilometers of Henan section, and 11 kilometers of Anhui section. The under construction Shanghai Chongqing Chengdu Yangtze River high-speed railway will be used for 125 kilometers, with a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour and a total of 11 stations. The total investment is about 68.127 billion yuan.

Significant importance in improving the regional road network

As a key high-speed railway trunk line connecting Henan and Anhui, and directly connecting to the Yangtze River Delta, this project can be interconnected with multiple backbone railways, building a new high-speed railway channel from eastern Henan and southern Henan to the Yangtze River Delta, and further connecting the Beijing Hong Kong Taiwan channel. After the completion of the project, it will greatly facilitate the travel of people along the route, and has important strategic significance for improving the comprehensive transportation network in the central region, deepening the coordinated development between the central region and the Yangtze River Delta, and assisting the revitalization of revolutionary old areas and poverty-stricken areas.

Approval of feasibility study for early acceleration is imminent

The Nanxinhe high-speed railway belongs to the Ningxi high-speed railway corridor, which is an important connecting line of the national eight vertical and eight horizontal high-speed railway main channels and an auxiliary channel of the Yangtze River high-speed railway. The project started survey and design in 2022 and has undergone multiple rounds of review and evaluation. Passing the feasibility study review means that the final critical review before approval has been completed, and the feasibility study approval has entered the countdown. Keywords: Nanxinhe Railway, High speed Railway, Yangtze River Delta

The completion of the project will fill the gap in the horizontal high-speed railway in southern Henan. For the first time, 8 counties along the line will be connected to high-speed railways. From Nanyang and Xinyang to Shanghai, there is no need to detour around Zhengzhou and Wuhan. Nanyang can also be directly connected to Guangzhou through Xinyang East Station, significantly reducing travel time. According to the deployment, Henan Intercity Railway Co., Ltd. will accelerate the preliminary work and strive to start construction as soon as possible.Editor/Gong Ziwei