At 7:26 on December 1, G4069 train departed from Zhengzhou East Station. Although it was bitterly cold outside the train, the compartment was as warm as spring.
Mr. Chen, a passenger on board, has been looking out of the window. "It's so fast, just like a dream." Only when the train was approaching Zhoukou East Station did Mr. Chen stop his gaze. Mr. Chen, who lives in Zhoukou, has worked in Zhengzhou for 9 years. Because of the inconvenient transportation, he seldom goes home every year. Knowing that the HSR was to be opened, he bought a ticket for the first train. "Now I can return home in about an hour if I want to." Mr. Chen said.
At 8:32, the train arrived at Zhoukou East Station. Zhoukou and Fuyang along the Zhengzhou-Fuyang HSR are main output areas of migrant workers and the main "battlefields" for poverty alleviation. Zhoukou is one of the prefecture-level cities with a large population and numerous migrant workers in Henan Province. "This HSR is indeed a happy road for poverty alleviation." Liu Chang said. As a railway fan, Liu pays special attention to the construction of HSR network. Zhengzhou-Fuyang HSR is connected east to the Shangqiu-Hefei Section of Beijing-Hong Kong HSR which opened on the same day, forming a fast passenger transport corridor linking Henan and Anhui provinces. The railway is also connected to Hefei-Nanjing HSR and Hefei-Fuzhou HSR through Hefei, further strengthening the links between Zhoukou and Fuyang areas and the southeast coastal areas. Zhoukou has a population of more than 10 million and has millions of migrant workers, most of whom are concentrated in Shanghai and Zhejiang. In the past, most of the workers went out by trains through Shangqiu and Luohe stations. Today, workers can get on the HSR at hometown.
"With the opening of Zhengzhou-Fuyang HSR, the people's happiness index in Zhoukou will immediately increase." In carriage 14, Mr Liu, who lives in Xihua and works in Zhengzhou, told reporters. On the opening day of the HSR, Zhoukou City's Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism Bureau specially organized theatrical troupes to perform on the train to celebrate the opening of HSR in Zhoukou.
On the return journey, the reporter saw at Zhoukou East Station that most of the passengers directly entered the station by scanning the ID cards and swiping the ticket QR codes on mobile phones. After Zhengzhou-Fuyang HSR is put into operation, e-tickets will be applied in the whole railway.
