Last week the World Bank approved a US$200 million loan to Beijing for expanding capacity and improving efficiency of the main rail link between Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. The loan will go toward improving the 254-kilometer Liu-Zhan line at the end of the Shanghai-Kunming rail corridor, a US$1.1 billion project under China's Third National Railway Project.

Improvements planned for the section of rail connecting Yunnan and Guizhou include realignment of the tracks to facilitate train speed increases and double-tracking the single-track section of the Guiyang-Kunming line linking Liupanshui in western Guizhou with Zhanyi in northeast Yunnan. Remodeling the Liupanshui terminal area is also part of the project.

Once the project is completed, the Liu-Zhan line will have quadrupled its capacity, transit times will be halved, and container trains will be able to be double-stacked for the first time. Currently the line is operating at near capacity and is unable to meet projected future transport demands as western China continues to grow.

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