A groundbreaking ceremony for the much-anticipated Changsha-Liuyang Maglev Express Line was held in Liuyang Economic Development Zone on November 11.

The Changsha-Liuyang Maglev Express Line is the third maglev line in Hunan Province, after the Changsha Maglev Express Line and the Fenghuang Maglev Sightseeing Express Line. It is a main artery of traffic between Changsha city, Jinyang New Area, and Liuyang city proper. It adopts a maglev system, with a maximum design speed of 160 km/h. It is expected to be completed and open to traffic in 2029.

The total length of the line is 48.73 kilometers, with a total investment of about 18.275 billion CNY. The project will be planned as a whole and constructed in two phases. The first phase extends from the Changsha Huanghua International Airport to Liuyang's Jili.

A bus-type flexible operation mode will be implemented for the line, aiming to ensure rapid transit between key stations while providing access to the commuter stations along the route. Under the mode, it takes 11 minutes from Liuyang's urban area to the Liuyang Economic Development Area, 25 minutes to the Changsha Huanghua International Airport, and 43 minutes to the Changsha South Railway Station.

The line is the backbone of the urban (suburban) railway network of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) metropolitan area, and also a demonstration line for the construction of rapid maglev transportation.

Upon completion, Liuyang residents can reach the airport hub in 30 minutes and Changsha's main urban area in 1 hour. This will greatly shorten the travel time between Changsha and Liuyang and further promote the coordinated development of the CZT metropolitan area and Hunan-Jiangxi border area. At that time, Liuyang residents can transfer to Metro Line 6, Line 4, and Line 2 at Huanghua Airport and Changsha South Railway Station, reaching the city proper of Changsha conveniently.

Source: en.changsha.gov.cn