CHINA: The Ziyun local freight railway at Zhijiang in Hubei's Yichang region opened on January 18.
The 36·7 km line runs from Zhijiang station on the Jiaozuo – Liuzhou line to serve four River Yangtze ports at Yunchi, Baiyang, Tianjiahe and Yaojiagang, and adjacent industrial parks. The line will also connect with the Dangyang – Yuanan railway which is currently under construction.
The railway was built by Hubei Communications Investment Group and CRC Eleventh Bureau at a cost of 2·4bn yuan. It is forecast to carry 6·64 million tonnes in 2020, increasing to 11 million in 2030.
News agency Xinhua reported that the Sanning Chemical works expects the opening of the line to reduce its transport costs by 100m yuan a year, as it will no longer need to use road transport to and from Zhijiang.