Zhengzhou–Kaifeng intercity railway, abbreviated as the Zhengkai intercity railway, is a higher-speed intercity railway in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, connecting

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

and

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

. It is part of the larger Central Plain Metropolitan Intercity Rail network. Construction commenced on December 29, 2009. With a designed top speed of , it is built as a double tracked electrified passenger dedicated line. Total length of this project is , costing an estimated 5.5 billion yuan to construct. Some trains through operate to Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport via the Zhengji ICR or to

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( zh, s= , p=Jiāozuò ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to th ...

via the Zhengjiao ICR. The Zhengzhou East - Songchenglu section commenced operation on 28 December 2014. The phase II project ( Songchenglu -

section) was completed on March 15, 2025.

Route

Phase I

The first phase is from

Zhengzhou East railway station The Zhengzhoudong (Zhengzhou East) railway station () is a railway station for high-speed trains in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. It is located approximately 3 km southeast of the Zhengdong New Area CBD. On the junction of the North-South Be ...

to Songchenglu, via Jialuhe, Lüboyuan and Yulianghe. On 10 January 2016, Jialuhe station and Yulianghe station were closed due to lack of passengers. They were re-opened on September 28, 2024

Phase II

The phase II project extended the line to Kaifeng railway station from Songchenglu. Construction started on June 20, 2022, and was completed on March 15, 2025. The extension is in length.

Future Development

Seven more stations along the line are in the future plan, including Zhongyixueyuan, Dayouzhuang, Yuantangshu, Dameng, Dangzhuang, Cangzhai and Bianxi.

Rolling stock

CRH6A-0428 approaching Zhengzhoudong 20190216 01

The railway is using CRH6A intercity

EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the ...

for service, starting from February 2018. Prior to that,

CRH2A The CRH2 Hexie () is one of the high-speed train models in China. The CRH2 is based on the E2-1000 Series Shinkansen design from Japan with the license purchased from a consortium formed of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Electric, and H ...

EMUs were operated.

Fare

At initial operation stage, the fare was 28 yuan for first-class and 18 yuan for second-class over the whole trip. After February 2018, with the use of new CRH6A EMUs, fixed seat numbers have been cancelled, as well as the first class seats. The fare is 18 yuan for a ticket. The elderly, children and disabled soldiers enjoy a 30% discount. From 28 April 2018, there will be a discount fare for the trains on this railway.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhengzhou-Kaifeng Intercity Railway High-speed railway lines in China Rail transport in Henan 25 kV AC railway electrification