Shanxi's transportation system to undergo five-year upgrade

Shanxi province has released the "15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for the Development of a Modern Comprehensive Transportation System", outlining the completion of a national high-speed railway and highway network within Shanxi, with a focus on digital upgrades for the primary road framework and enhanced comprehensive transportation hubs.

Central to this initiative is the enhancement of the "two vertical, four horizontal, one ring" transport corridor, with the development of a radial high-speed railway network centered in Taiyuan, ensuring connectivity across the province and linking it to surrounding regions. 

The plan also emphasizes the completion of pending sections of the national highway network, improving inter-provincial highway exits, and refining the ring roads around cities. This will establish a comprehensive road framework that integrates highways, national and provincial trunk roads, and accessible mountain road networks.

The blueprint calls for the development of multi-level comprehensive transportation hub cities: it aims to elevate Taiyuan's status as a national transportation hub, support Datong and Shuozhou in creating a gateway to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Bohai Rim, and assist Changzhi and Jincheng in becoming a portal to the Central Plains urban cluster and the Yangtze River Delta.

Shanxi also plans to develop zero-carbon highway transport corridors along major routes like the Beijing-Kunming, Qingdao-Yinchuan, and Qingdao-Lanzhou expressways, as well as national highways 108, 208, and 209. The province will accelerate the construction of new energy heavy truck charging and battery swap stations, along with hydrogen refueling stations.