Bullet train service between Beijing and six cities to begin on April 18
12/4/2007 16:45
Bullet trains will link Chinese capital Beijing with six major cities
from April 18, according to First Daily, a Beijing newspaper. The trains will
travel at speeds of between 200 and 250 kilometers per hour between the capital
and the six cities of Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenyang, Changchun, Harbin and Qingdao,
reducing journey times by an average of two hours. The journey between Beijing
and Shanghai will take ten hours. Ticket prices for the bullet trains will
cost 50 percent more than the current express trains, which usually travel at
115 kilometers per hour. Passengers will be allowed to book tickets 20 days
in advance at designated ticket offices in the cities involved or at railway
stations. Tickets for the first bullet train services will go on sale on
Saturday night, only four days in advance. Non-stop express trains would also
start to operate between Beijing and the three cities of Nanchang, Nantong and
Fuzhou. The Railway Ministry will hold a press conference today on the
preparations for the sixth round of the railway "speed boost" program aimed at
increasing the railway system's passenger handling capacity by 18 percent and
its cargo capacity by 12 percent. China raised the speed limits of trains for
the first time in 1997 when most were running at a mere 60 kilometers per
hour.
Xinhua
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