China Railway report

China begins Work on High-speed Railway

Beijing, Oct 28 (IANS): China has begun work on a high-speed railway linking two major economic hubs in the country to boost growth. The 643 km line will link Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, with Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Over 40 billion yuan (about $6 billion) will be spent. Travel time between the two cities will be shortened from 12 to just three hours when the project will be completed in five years, Xinhua reported Saturday. Nearly 130 km of the track will pass through tunnels in Qinling Mountains. The line is part of a 40,000 km high-speed railway network that China is constructing.