CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- The 3-day 2023 Western China International Traffic Construction Expo took place in Chongqing on June 8, where experts and scholars from China Communications and Transportation Association, the traffic departments in Sichuan and Chongqing, Chongqing Jiaotong University, CHN Energy, and China Construction Eight Engineering Division made suggestions for hotspot issues like the integrated transport system and industrial development in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. They believe that emphasis should be placed on the connectivity, eco-friendliness, and intelligence of the integrated transport system in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.

There are still imperfections in the connectivity between Chengdu and Chongqing

There are still imperfections in the connectivity between Chengdu and Chongqing, said Zhong Hua, Vice President of China Communications and Transportation Association. The capacity of some major channels connecting Sichuan and Chongqing needs to be improved to further enhance the connectivity between the two regions and increase the impact of the transport system on the development of surrounding areas.

To fill in the gap, the traffic departments in Sichuan and Chongqing have created a list of major projects for the development of the Chengdu – Chongqing Economic Circle in 2023, which includes 248 major projects in the field of highways, high-speed rail, transportation, and urban rail construction.

Chongqing City Transportation Development & Investment Group is making every effort to build an economic circle on the rail. They will complete an investment of over 200 billion yuan during the 14th five-year period to break through 1,000 kilometers in terms of the total length of the CRT system in operation and under construction.

Shudao Investment Group is working hard to build a well-connected “Shu Dao” (a road system). They have 31 highway projects and 18 railroad projects under construction or to be built in the Chengdu – Chongqing Economic Circle.

Build eco-friendly and low-carbon corridors on highways

Eco-friendly and low-carbon public transport is vital to the realization of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. Therefore, experts propose building green and low-carbon corridors on the highways in the Chengdu – Chongqing region and promoting intelligent and eco-friendly public transport projects.

Shudao Investment Group is pushing forward the construction of the Chengdu – Chongqing electric corridor. They built the first public charging station for heavy-duty vehicles in China and achieved their goal of building charging stations along the ten highways between Sichuan and Chongqing.

Chongqing Expressway is speeding efforts to seek an eco-friendly and low-carbon development mode. Making full use of the better light resources in northeastern Chongqing, they have built photovoltaic projects in 12 service centers and tunnel entrances along the Chengkou – Kaizhou Highway based on the characteristics of highway electricity load.

In addition to Chengdu and Chongqing, other central cities and small and medium-sized cities in the economic circle should develop low and medium-capacity monorail transportation systems featuring less noise, low cost, short construction period, small scale, and short turning radius, according to Du Zixue, the professor of Chongqing Jiaotong University.

He added this goal required Sichuan and Chongqing to optimize system design, infrastructure solutions, operation, and maintenance, and reduce construction investment in all aspects by promoting smaller, intelligent connected, and new-energy vehicles.

Promote the use of intelligent public transport in more application scenarios

Experts also believe that the integrated development of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and the transportation industry should be accelerated to promote the implementation of intelligent public transport in more application scenarios and enhance the intelligence of public transportation in the Chengdu – Chongqing region.

The traffic departments in Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly issued the construction standards for intelligent highways in Sichuan and Chongqing. Shudao Investment Group has also upgraded the intelligence of the entire Chengdu – Yibin Highway, reducing the number of traffic accidents by 60 percent.

Liu Shudong, Deputy General Manager of China Construction Eight Engineering Division, said that the group had built the first unmanned beam factory, with an overall automated production level of more than 80%. The IBM smart equipment bridge erector using the Beidou navigation and positioning system can increase the installation efficiency by more than 20%. The application of intelligent equipment will help accelerate the construction of public transport in the Chengdu – Chongqing economic circle. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)