In May 2026, the bidding announcement for the civil construction of the R1 line (Quanzhou section) of the Quanzhou Xiamen Zhangzhou intercity railway was officially released, and the four sections QSG1 to QSG4 were launched simultaneously, marking the beginning of the construction phase of this first rail transit project in Quanzhou. As the core backbone line for the urbanization of Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, the R1 line has a total length of 175.04 kilometers and a total investment of 67.983 billion yuan. After completion, it will achieve one hour commuting between the three cities.

71 kilometers pass through the heart

The Quanzhou section of the railway has a total length of about 71 kilometers and a total investment of 12.41 billion yuan. It has 15 stations, including 6 elevated stations, 7 underground stations, and 2 reserved stations. The designed speed is 160km/h and it adopts a 4-car formation of D-type trains in the city area. The route starts from Quanzhou East Station, passes through the Taiwan Business District, Fengze Donghai, Jinjiang Chidian, Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport, SM Square, and ends at Nan'an Shuitou and Shijing. It does not run around the city, but passes through the heart, accurately connecting the first ring of the East China Sea high-end functional ring and the second ring of the Taiwan Business and Jinjiang integrated service ring, covering the busiest traffic area along the route.

All prerequisite procedures are closed

Quanzhou Jiaofa Group, under the ownership of Rail Transit Group, took the initiative to take the lead in establishing a closed-loop review mechanism to address the complex content, multiple interfaces, and large amount of drawings involved in bidding projects. The multi-level drawing review process, including design, consultation, and third-party mandatory review, was completed, and the construction drawings were successfully registered with the National Railway Administration and Shanghai Railway Supervision Bureau. The group also efficiently completed special approvals related to highways, flood control and drainage, and completed all necessary procedures. At present, the bidding control price has been prepared and is being reviewed in cooperation with the Municipal Finance Evaluation Center. After multiple rounds of optimization by experts, legal and regulatory departments, the bidding documents have been released as scheduled. Keywords: intercity railway, transportation

The R1 line connects major hubs such as Xiang'an Airport, Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport, Xiamen East Station, Gaoqi Station, Quanzhou East Station, and Zhangzhou Station, providing high-capacity, high-speed, and public transportation services for the Xiamen Zhangzhou Quanzhou metropolitan area. The Quanzhou section will take the lead in construction, further narrowing the time and space distance between the three regions and accelerating the formation of the rail transit network in the southern Fujian region.Editor/Cheng Liting