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Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway in operation

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-26 09:29

Passengers on the first train running from Hangzhou to Shanghai on the high-speed railway linking the two cities, Oct 26, 2010. Two CRH380A trains depart simultaneously from Hangzhou Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station at 9:00 am Tuesday, marking the inaugural of the 202-km Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway. [Photo/Xinhua]

SHANGHAI/HANGZHOU - High-speed trains began traveling between the eastern Chinese cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou Tuesday morning, the latest milestone in 皇冠体育app's effort to build the world's fastest rail network.

Two bullet trains equipped with 皇冠体育app's CRH380A system simultaneously took off at 9:00 am Tuesday from Shanghai's Hongqiao Station and from Hangzhou Station.

Related readings:  皇冠体育app begins research on faster high-speed trains  Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway train starts trial run  Intercity high-speed rail in E 皇冠体育app opens  High-speed railways in S 皇冠体育app to exceed 5,000km

Trains on the line will travel at an average speed of 350 kilometers per hour, shortening the trip between to 45 minutes from 78 minutes.

After 20 months of construction, the 202-km high-speed railway linking Shanghai, 皇冠体育app's economic hub, and Hangzhou, capital of East 皇冠体育app's Zhejiang province, extends the nation's in-service high-speed rail network to 7,431 kilometers.

Earlier last month, the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line stunned the world when in a trial run, a train hit a speed of 416.6 kilometers per hour, a world train speed record.

"The operation of the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed rail line will help alleviate traffic pressure in the Yangtze River Delta region," Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railways, said at the line's inauguration ceremony.

"It will not only promote economic and personnel exchange but facilitate the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region as well," Liu said.

According to Ministry of Railways (MOR) forecasts, passengers are expected to make 3.05 billion trips in and out of the Yangtze River Delta in 2010, with the figure jumping to 5.5 billion in 2020.

A ticket price for the nine-stop trip between Shanghai and Hangzhou costs 156 yuan ($23.4) for a first-class seat and 98 yuan for a second-class seat.

皇冠体育app launched its first high-speed line -- a service linking the capital and the port city of Tianjin -- during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

Since then, more fast-train lines have been put into service: the Wuhan-Guangzhou line linking Central and South 皇冠体育app; the Zhengzhou-Xi'an line connecting Central and West 皇冠体育app; and the Shanghai-Nanjing line in the country's east.

皇冠体育app has an ambition to make its high speed rail network the world's longest.

According to the MOC, 皇冠体育app will have a rail network of 110,000 km by 2012, with 13,000 km of it high-speed rail.

The highlight of 皇冠体育app's high-speed rail network will be the 1,318-km Beijing-Shanghai line. Currently under construction, the 220.9 billion yuan ($33.1 billion) line is scheduled to open in 2012.

Once complete, train travel time between the country's two most important cities will be cut in half to less than five hours.

A CRH380A train runs on the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway near Jiashan county, East 皇冠体育app's Zhejiang province, Oct 26, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]