Track laying for the Harbin-Yichun High Speed Railway, China's northernmost high-speed railway under construction, was completed on Tuesday. Stretching 318 kilometers, the railway line connects Harbin, Yichun and some other cities in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Its seamless steel tracks allow a designed train speed of 250 kilometers per hour while ensuring quiet trips for passengers. The progress was made after 17 months of hard work despite challenges posed by a local temperature range of over 50 degrees Celsius and 14 permafrost zones with an average depth of 8.9 meters along the route, which constitute multiple national records in terms of construction difficulty. Instead of the traditional way of laying track sleepers one by one, the project adopts an advanced method of laying sleepers in groups, increasing efficiency by 50 percent to 2.5 kilometers per day. In addition, the CPG500, China's first homegrown long rail track-laying machine, has been used to lay the seamless steel tracks to ensure the project proceeds on schedule. "The Harbin-Yichun high-speed railway is divided into the Harbin-Tieli section and the Tieli-Yichun section. Up to now, we have finished 95 percent of the Tieli-Yichun section and 77 percent of the Harbin-Tieli section. We will not only complete track laying, but also complete the construction of the overhead contact line, the electric power, traction power supply, communications, and signaling systems, and supporting facilities by the end of the year, so as to get prepared for the acceptance testing early next year," said Guo Yingxun, head of Heilongjiang Railway Development Group Tieli Office. Upon completion, the rail route is expected to reduce the travel time between Harbin and Yichun from the current seven hours to approximately two hours, and will play a crucial role in promoting economic and social development in the region and the full revitalization of northeast China. To date, China has built the world's largest high-speed railway network, with a total length of around 48,000 kilometers, covering 97 percent of its cities with a population of over 500,000. The country aims to expand its operating high-speed rail tracks to about 60,000 kilometers by 2030. SHOTLIST: Qing'an County, Suihua City, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Nov 25, 2025 1. Aerial shot of Harbin-Yichun high-speed railway under construction; 2. Aerial shots of machinery laying tracks; 3. Aerial shots of facilities under construction; 4. Various of workers; facilities under construction; 5. Various of machinery, workers laying tracks; 6. Aerial shots of railway under construction, railway station; 7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Guo Yingxun, head, Heilongjiang Railway Development Group Tieli Office (ending with shot 8): "The Harbin-Yichun high-speed railway is divided into the Harbin-Tieli section and the Tieli-Yichun section. Up to now, we have finished 95 percent of the Tieli-Yichun section and 77 percent of the Harbin-Tieli section. We will not only complete track laying, but also complete the construction of the overhead contact line, the electric power, traction power supply, communications, and signaling systems, and supporting facilities by the end of the year, so as to get prepared for the acceptance testing early next year."; 8. Aerial shots of machinery laying tracks; 9. Aerial shots of railway under construction, railway station. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]