The test train 55310 was travelling along the railway line. (Reporter/Xu Zhengyu)

　　With test train 55103 conducting its inaugural run along the track of the Wuhan-Yichang section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railway, the comprehensive testing and commissioning phase for this section commenced on May 15. This marks a crucial milestone toward the section’s anticipated opening later this year.

　　As a vital section of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed corridor, a cornerstone of China’s “eight vertical and eight horizontal railway network”, the Wuhan-Yichang section entered construction in September 2021 and achieved completion in January 2025. Designed for speeds of 350 km/h, the railway will reduce the travel time between Wuhan and Yichang from the current two-hour journey to approximately one hour. (Reporters/Zhu Haoying and Gao Yu, Correspondent/Chen Long)