High-speed trains linking Beijing and Shanghai made their passenger debut Thursday on a $33 billion track China hopes will help ease its overloaded transport system. Premier Wen Jiabao declared the link "in operation" at Beijing South rail station before boarding the first sleek-nosed white train that took passengers to Shanghai, the country's commercial hub, in less than five hours.
He said the high-speed line - launched on the eve of celebrations to mark the 90th birthday of China's Communist party - would be key to "improving the modern transport system... and satisfying people's travelling needs". The line, which has been operating on a trial basis since mid-May, halves the rail journey time between the country's two main cities and could hurt airlines on the busy route plagued by delays and cancellations.
"The high-speed train is fast and more convenient than a plane," 38-year-old Xu Yuhua told AFP as she waited with her 10-year-old daughter to board the first departure for Shanghai, which left promptly at 3:00 pm (0700 GMT). Armed police and regular officers were on high alert at the station, where 10 of the gleaming trains were lined up for departure. Excited passengers posed for photographs in front of the locomotive and outside their carriages.
The fast link, which has been hit by safety concerns and graft, is opening a year ahead of schedule and will be able to carry 80 million passengers a year - double the current capacity on the 1,318-kilometre (820-mile) route. "It could play a transformational role in shaping the future economic dynamics in coastal China... by creating more spillover effects to regions lying along the sprawling high-speed railway line," Ren Xianfang, an analyst at IHS Global Insight, told AFP. But for the airline industry, the impact could be "destructive", she warned. One-way train ticket prices will cost 410-1,750 yuan ($63-$270) subject to further adjustments, vice rail minister Hu Yadong said this month, compared with about 1,300 yuan for a flight.
Comments
Comments are closed.