China
on Wednesday opened the world's longest high-speed rail line that more than
halves the time required to travel from the country's capital in the north to
Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.
The
opening of the 2,298 kilometer (1,428 mile)-line was commemorated by the 9 a.m.
departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou
for Beijing an hour later.China
has massive resources and considerable prestige invested in its showcase
high-speed railways program.
But it
has in recent months faced high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in
central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the
summer of 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded
the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were
detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash.Trains
on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 kph (186 mph) with a
total travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the
two cities by train was more than 20 hours.
The
line also makes stops in major cities along the way, including provincial
capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha.
More
than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day, the
official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Railways.
Railway
is an essential part in China's transportation system, and the government plans
to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four
north-south lines by 2020.
The
opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed
railway system to more than 9,300 km (5,800 miles) — about half its 2015 target
of 18,000 km.
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