On 26 October high-speed trains began travelling between Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. Trains on the line will travel at an average speed of 350kph, shortening the journey to 45 minutes from 78 minutes.

The 202km-long line took 20 months to construct, and its opening extended the country’s operational high-speed rail network to 7,431km.

“The operation of the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed rail line will help alleviate traffic pressure in the Yangtze River Delta region,” said Liu Zhijun, Minister of Railways. “It will not only promote economic and personnel exchange but facilitate the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region as well.”

A ticket for the trip between Shanghai and Hangzhou costs Rmb156 for a first-class seat and Rmb98 for a second-class seat.

China plans to establish a rail network of 110,000km by 2012, of which 13,000km will be high-speed. One project currently under construction is the 1,318km Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line, which is scheduled to open in 2012. Once complete, train travel time between the country’s two most important cities will be halved to less than five hours.