Track-laying work for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is now completed. This has immense implications for short haul aircraft. If the journey, as promised, will take four hours which is from city center to city center than few passengers will use the airlines.
Now what needs to be installed is the railway’s power supply, communications and signal systems to ensure the railway can open to traffic next year.
The 1,318-km railway costs RMB220.94 billion (US$33.29 billion) in total.
English People’s Daily Online reports the ministry aims to slash the travel time between China’s two largest cities to only four hours. Compare with flying which takes an hour to the airport, and hour to check in, an hour’s flight and then, at the other end an hour into the city. It has already been demonstrated there is simply no contest. Up to, say, 1,500 km, all other things being equal, the train wins hands down.