By Zhao Congcong

CHONGQING, Aug. 7 -- A hospital train with six carriages pulled in the platform of Xinqiao Hospital Railway Station on August 6, marking the opening of China's first railway line and railway station exclusively dedicated to the military hospital train.

The railway station is located in the Xinqiao Hospital, which is affiliated to the PLA Army Military Medical University. With two dedicated railway tracks, it is connected to China’s railway network through the adjacent Chongqing-Guizhou Railway.

The military hospital train in the new railway station has a maximum formation of 19 carriages, with a holding capacity of nearly 500 wounded personnel at a time, and is featured with large capacity, high speed, wide travelling area, adequate medical facilities and strong treatment capabilities.

Multiple operations including surgery and first aid, intensive care, and remote consultation can be conducted in transit. Facilitated by the opening of the exclusive tracks and station, the military hospital train would be more adequate for the transfer and on-the-way medical support of the wounded and the sick in the context of China’s vast territory and well-developed railway network, and could further provide high-level medical and health services to other countries and regions along the route of Belt and Road Initiative.