New railroad linking Tianjin city with Beijing Daxing airport starts commercial operation Monday

A new high-speed railway that links North China's port city of Tianjin with Beijing Daxing International Airport (BDIA) will start commercial operation on Monday, according to China's state railway operator. 

The railway, which can send passengers from Tianjin West Railway Station to Beijing Daxing International Airport in 41 minutes, will become the fourth HSR, linking capital city of Beijing and Tianjin, boosting the connectivity and development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China State Railway Group Co said in a statement on Sunday.

The railway covers a distance of 101 kilometers with six stations scattered along the route and has a top design speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the company said.

In the initial operation, a total of eight trains will run on the route each day, which will be increased to 18 trains in the second quarter of 2024. 

In October, Beijing Daxing International Airport marked a throughput of 30 million passengers in 2023. Since it was first opened on September 25, 2019, the airport has facilitated 700,000 inbound and outbound flights, a total throughput of 84.55 million passenger trips and cargo throughput of 570,000 tons.

As of the end of 2022, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region boast operational rail links totaling 10,933 kilometers, of which 2,575 kilometers are HSR, according to media reports.