The initial section, from Rizhao to Qufu East, opened on 26 November 2019, connecting Rizhao on the Yellow Sea coast with Qufu, home of Confucius and a major tourist destination.

[1] The section from Qufu East to Zhuangzhai opened on 26 December 2021.

[4] The total length of the route from Rizhao to Lankao will be 494 kilometres (307 mi).

The railway starts from Rizhao West on the Qingdao–Yancheng railway, part of the Coastal corridor, a high-speed rail corridor running along the eastern coast of China.

There are other trains that go the long way around between the stations, for example train G5528 goes from Linyi North to Rizhao West via Qufu, Jinan, Weifang and Qingdao taking 4 hours 35 minutes.