Construction of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei rail lines is set to commence by the end of 2015, according to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Intercity Railway Investment Co. Ltd., the company in charge of the massive road project.
The two intercity railways will link Beijing with its neighbors, Hebei Province and Tianjin Municipality.
The intercity railways will provide easier transportation for daily commuters, as the 160-kilometer Beijing-Tangshan City line will also pass by the suburban district of Tongzhou in Beijing, Langfang City in Hebei Province, and Baodi District in Tianjin before reaching its final destination.
Another 182-kilometer rail will spring out of the 80-kilometer Beijing-Baodi section of the Beijing-Tangshan line. This new line will link Beijing with Eastern Tianjin's Binhai New District.
Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Intercity Railway Investment Co. Ltd. was founded by China Railway and the municipal governments of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin in 2014.
Plans to construct two additional rail lines, one connecting Beijing Capital International Airport with a new airport in south Beijing and the other line connecting Langfang and Zhuozhou in Hebei Province, will be acted upon during the later part of 2016.
Ambitious and expensive, company chairman Hao Weiya estimates the total investment for the project to be more than 100 billion yuan, which roughly translates to $16.12 billion. The Chinese government will shoulder 10 billion of the expenses, while the 90 billion will come from other sources.
The intercity rail lines will not only bring about easier transportation, but will also pave the way for coordinated regional development.
The total length of the operational intercity rail lines in use today to connect the three areas is currently at 118 kilometers, but after the construction of the planned rail lines, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei lines will stretch to a total of 3,796 kilometers.