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On September 28, 2026, China's northernmost high-speed railway, the Harbin–Yichun High-Speed Railway, officially entered service, extending the country's high-speed rail network further north than ever before.

Route and Specifications

The new line spans 318 kilometers and is designed for a speed of 250 kilometers per hour. It connects Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, with the forest city of Yichun, running through the Xiaoxing'anling mountain range. The railway features nine stations: Harbin, Harbin North, Hulan North, Xinglongzhen West, Suihua South, Qing'an South, Tieli, Riyuexia, and Yichun West. Yichun West Station is now the highest-latitude high-speed railway station in China.

The first train, D7288, departed from Yichun West Station at 10:26 a.m. and arrived at Harbin at 12:05 p.m., with the inaugural service running at full capacity.

Engineering Breakthrough in Permafrost

The Harbin–Yichun line is China's first high-speed railway to cross a region of discontinuous permafrost. The route traverses 14 sections of island permafrost totaling 5.8 kilometers. The region experiences a temperature range exceeding 70 degrees Celsius annually, with winter extremes reaching minus 40 degrees Celsius. Permafrost poses a serious engineering challenge: it melts when warm and expands when frozen, which can cause路基沉降 (subgrade settlement) and track deformation. Construction began in 2022, and builders developed new technologies and techniques to overcome these extreme cold-region conditions.

Dramatic Reduction in Travel Time

The railway has slashed travel time between Harbin and Yichun from approximately seven hours to just under two hours, with the fastest journey taking 1 hour and 46 minutes. The line also connects Suihua and Yichun to the national high-speed rail network for the first time.

Strategic Significance

As an important extension of the "Beijing–Harbin–Hong Kong–Macao corridor" within China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed rail network, the Harbin–Yichun line fills a gap in high-speed rail coverage in northern Heilongjiang Province. It completes a more integrated high-speed rail network in northern China and brings the total number of cities with high-speed rail access in Heilongjiang to ten.

The railway is expected to accelerate the transformation of the region's ecological, agricultural, and tourism resources into industrial advantages. It opens a rapid corridor for the flow of talent, technology, and capital from Harbin into northern counties and forest regions, supporting the broader strategy of revitalizing Northeast China. For residents along the route, the new line significantly improves access to medical care, education, and employment opportunities.