The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will begin operation in 2011, a year ahead of schedule, according to Zheng Jian, chief planner of the Ministry of Railways, reported by China Daily.

Wang Zhiguo, vice-minister of railways, said that the new line would cut the journey time between China’s two leading cities to four hours, while services from Beijing to Nanjing would take just three hours. Currently, it takes about 10 hours to travel by train from Beijing to Shanghai and Nanjing.

A high-speed train is now being developed for the line. It is being tested to run at a top speed of 420 kph to guarantee a safe operational speed of 380 kph, Huang Qiang, chief researcher with the China Academy of Railway Sciences told Beijing News.