At 8:58 a.m. on September 22, the first fully loaded train of 4,320 tonnes of clean coal, powered by an electric locomotive, slowly departed from the Huanghua South Station of the Shuohuang Railway and entered the Huangwan Line, marking the completion and operation of the electrification upgrade of the Huangwan Line, a key project under China’s Plan for the Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region During the 14th Five-Year Period. The upgrade provides a cleaner and more efficient rail transportation corridor for the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
The Huangwan Line, a national Level I single-track railway, runs from Huanghua South Station in the south to Wanjia Wharf in Tianjin City in the north, with its terminal connecting to the Nanjiang Wharf at Tianjin Port. It is a part of China’s west-to-east coal transportation corridor and the collection and distribution channel serving Tianjin Port, primarily responsible for coal transportation from the Shuohuang Railway to Tianjin Port, as well as metal ores transportation at the northwest regions along the routes from Tianjin Port to the Shuohuang Railway. With an annual transportation capacity of 51 million tonnes, the Huangwan Line is a key freight line focusing on coal transportation.
The electrification transformation project of the Huangwan Line is a prominent initiative by China Shenhua to promote low-carbon rail transportation and support China’s “dual carbon” goal. It has been included in the key construction projects of the Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region of the 14th Five-Year Plan, the 2024 Key Construction Project List of Tianjin, and Tianjin’s Initiative to Build National Comprehensive Freight Hub for Bolstering Industrial and Supply Chains. The project began on March 1, 2023, with a total investment of RMB 639 million. Following the operation of the electrified line, new electric locomotives will replace traditional diesel ones, allowing seamless transportation of high-quality coal from regions including Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia directly to Tianjin Port. This will reduce locomotive switching times, enhance operational efficiency, and increase the Huangwan Line’s annual transportation capacity by three million tonnes. It is expected to save 47,600 tonnes of fuel and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 148,000 tonnes every year, improving railway transportation conditions and equipment standards as well as strengthening the direct transportation capacity to Tianjin Port. Furthermore, it will play a crucial role in advancing China’s green, low-carbon transportation reconstruction and fostering closer interaction and integrated development within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
