Which of Chengdu, Chongqing and Guiyang is the railway hub in southwest China?

At first glance, you may subconsciously choose Chengdu and Chongqing among these three cities.

Maybe it’s because Chengdu and Chongqing are twin megacities in the west, with a population of over 10 million and a high GDP. In addition, there are many normal-speed railways and high-speed railway lines entering and exiting them. For example, the general-speed railways connecting Chongqing include Sichuan-Guizhou, Chengdu-Chongqing, Xiangyu, Yuhuai, Dawan, Yiwan, Lanzhou-Chongqing, etc. The high-speed or quasi-high-speed railways include Chengdu-Chongqing intercity, Yu-Wan, Yu-Gui, and Chongqing. Lee et al.

Schematic map of Chengdu, Chongqing and Guiyang in the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" railway plan

It is true that Chengdu and Chongqing are both railway hubs, and there are a particularly large number of people shipping every year, but this does not mean that It shows that Guiyang is not a railway hub. After all, it also has ordinary speed railways such as Shanghai-Kunming, Sichuan-Guizhou, Guizhou-Guizhou, Nei-Kunming, and Nan-Kunming, as well as high-speed or quasi-high-speed railways such as Shanghai-Kunming High-speed Railway, Chongqing-Guizhou Railway, Guizhou-Guangzhou Railway, and Chengdu-Guizhou High-speed Railway. There are also several large passenger stations: Guiyang Railway Station, Guiyang North Railway Station, and Guiyang East Railway Station.

As far as I am concerned, in fact, they are all railway hubs in the southwest region, and there is no distinction between them. Why do you think so? Because deciding whether a city is a railway hub must be comprehensively considered from the perspective of passenger transportation and freight transportation, rather than simply analyzing one aspect or geographical location.

Guiyang North Railway Station is the largest high-speed rail station in Guizhou Province. From here, you can reach many cities across the country

From a passenger transportation perspective, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guiyang all have multiple railway lines and There are many railway stations. In terms of railway lines, in addition to the above-mentioned Chongqing and Guiyang, Chengdu has Chengdu-Chongqing, Baocheng, Chengkun-Kunming, Xiangyu, Dacheng, Lanyu, Guangba and other regular-speed railways, and high-speed or quasi-high-speed railways. There are Chengyu Intercity, Xicheng, Chenggui, Chengya, Chengguan, etc.

In terms of railway stations, Chongqing West Railway Station, Chongqing North Railway Station, Chongqing Railway Station, Shapingba Railway Station and the Chongqing East Railway Station under construction form a pattern of passenger stations distributed around the main urban area of ??Chongqing. Chengdu is not simple either. Chengdu Railway Station, Chengdu East Railway Station, Chengdu South Railway Station, and Chengdu West Railway Station form the entry and exit channels from the east, west, south, and north directions of the main urban area. There will also be Tianfu Station and Shiling Station in the future.

The current layout of the four railway stations in the main urban area of ??Chengdu

Whether it is Chengdu, Chongqing or Guiyang, the railway passenger transport portals and passages are all good, and no one is unique.

Looking at freight, many people may ignore this important indicator. Since it is a railway hub, we cannot look at the passenger capacity, but we must also look at the freight capacity, because while passenger transportation solves the problem of personnel exchanges, freight is related to people's livelihood and economy, ranging from bulk goods to food and beverages, whether it is transported in or out. Going out requires transportation.

Freight capacity is also an important indicator of a city as a railway hub

As mentioned before, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Guiyang have many general-speed railways in and out. In terms of freight stations, Chengdu has Chengdu North Station, Chongqing has Xinglong Station, and Guiyang has Guiyang South Station. They are not ordinary freight stations, but freight stations with demarshalling capabilities. That is to say, many trucks arrive at the station. Afterwards, the trucks can be disassembled or grouped here, and then quickly delivered to the next destination.

These marshalling stations are all the highest-level marshalling stations in the road network, and they are also the core of the three cities becoming railway hubs. Of course, due to the different economic development of the region, the amount of goods transported will vary.

The railway marshalling station is a place that many people do not easily notice

In fact, from a geographical point of view, Chengdu, Chongqing and Guiyang all have their own advantages, but in the country In the railway network, all three are interdependent, and no one can live without the other. For example, Chengdu and Chongqing seem to have huge economies, and the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle is also one of the country's future four poles. However, trains from Chengdu and Chongqing to the coastal areas of South China basically pass through Guiyang.

In addition, Kunming’s status as a railway hub cannot be ignored. Although it is located in the southwest corner, with the construction and opening of the China-Laos Railway, its transportation status connecting the country and Southeast Asia is increasing day by day, and it is also a railway hub that cannot be ignored. As for Lhasa, it is no problem as a railway hub in Tibet, but it is not relevant in the southwest region.