On December 26th at 10 a.m., the Xi'an to Yan'an High-Speed Railway, a critical segment of the national Baotou-Yinchuan-Haikou high-speed rail corridor, officially commenced operations. This "Red High-Speed Rail," connecting the cities of Xi'an, Weinan, Tongchuan, and Yan'an, slashes the travel time between Xi'an and Yan'an from 2.5 hours to approximately 1 hour. With a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, it establishes a vital economic artery linking the old revolutionary base area of Northern Shaanxi to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta, opening new pathways for faster, cheaper logistics, integrated agricultural and cultural tourism development, and the attraction of high-end talent.

The Yan'an region is now integrated into Xi'an's "one-hour economic circle." Construction on the 299-kilometer line began in May 2021, starting from Xi'an East Station and passing through Weinan and Tongchuan before terminating at Yan'an Station. The initial phase opens ten stations, including Gaoling, Fuping South, Tongchuan, Tongchuan North, Yijun, Huangling, Luochuan, Fu County North, Ganquan North, and Yan'an. The line will operate at a maximum speed of 350 km/h, making it the fastest railway traversing the Loess Plateau. Initially, up to 38 high-speed trains will run daily, with the fastest journeys from Xi'an North to Fuping South, Tongchuan, and Yan'an taking just 19, 27, and 68 minutes respectively, representing significant time savings. A flexible, market-based ticketing system has been implemented to cater to diverse passenger needs.

Connecting the Guanzhong Plain with the Northern Shaanxi Loess Plateau, the railway presented immense engineering challenges, crossing four distinct geomorphological units often plagued by collapsible loess, landslides, and other unstable geological conditions, earning the route the nickname "Loess Geological Museum." To overcome these hurdles, builders employed innovative technologies and a green development approach. For precise geological surveying, engineers used domestically developed 3D remote sensing technology, likened to giving geological surveys "high-tech insight," which drastically reduced fieldwork and improved accuracy. A major challenge was the 5,239-meter Weihe Super Major Bridge, where construction in the river's turbulent, variable waters was compared to "threading a needle on water." Engineers used a 28-meter-long interlocking steel pile wall and a precise "air-lift" dredging method to build the bridge's foundation cleanly and stably in the powerful current.

The railway is set to empower the revitalization of the old revolutionary base areas. Luochuan County, a nationally renowned apple-producing region where 95% of farmers are involved in apple cultivation, has long been constrained by its complex terrain. Previously reliant on road transport, which was slow and caused significant spoilage, the county's apple industry struggled with high logistics costs. The new high-speed rail will transform this, with planned freight facilities enabling "express delivery" of apples from orchards to national markets via the Xi'an hub, significantly boosting competitiveness. Local fruit merchant Du Wangjun highlighted that the convenience also lowers client inspection costs, allowing potential buyers from Xi'an to visit orchards and finalize deals within a day, expanding his business network. The railway is expected to create a dual-driven development model combining "apple economy" and "red tourism," forming a complete industrial chain from picking to sales and tourism, attracting deep-processing enterprises, and injecting new vitality into the local economy.