CHINA: The first part of the 108·8 km long Sanya – Jianfeng Bei railway line running from Sanya to Yazhou was inaugurated on November 16. Leisure-oriented services are operated over a combination of the West Ring conventional line and sections of the Hainan Western Ring high speed line opened in 2015.
The Sanle Tourism Railway has a fleet of 15 four-car Type CRH6A-A EMUs built by CRRC Sifang, based on the company’s Cinova 2.0 train platform. The trains have HVAC designed to cope with Hainan’s high-temperature, high-humidity environment. Exterior and interior design and onboard features aim to enhance the tourist experience. Connecting transport to local tourist attractions is planned.
From Sanya, trains head west along the high speed line to just west of Fenghuang Airport where new connecting chords access the West Ring. They then run on 25 km of upgraded and electrified line serving three new stations; there had been no passenger service on this section since 2015. Approaching Yazhou, a second set of connecting chords link back onto the north side of the high speed line to additional platforms. From here, trains continue for 64 km via the high-speed line to Ledong and Jianfeng Bei.
The project was approved by China National Railway Group in December 2019 and construction began in 2020. The line was jointly constructed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, China Railway Erju Engineering Group, China Railway No. 2 Bureau Group, China Railway No. 10 Bureau Group, and China Railway Electrification Bureau.
