[photopress:beijingtrain.jpg,full,alignright]2008 is the target date to link Beijing to Tianjin by high-speed railway. It is intended to be open before the Olympics so that it will local residents will enjoy the first rides.
The stated plan is the Beijing-Tianjin inter-city passenger rail line will be completed and open to traffic before August 2008, when the Beijing Olympic Games open.
The train will shuttle passengers between the cities in just half an hour, 45 minutes shorter than the current travel time. The train is designed to go 200 kilometres per hour but eventually should be able to go at nearly twice that speed.
Ma Zhenhong, a press official with the Tianjin Municipal Communications Commission said the 115-kilometre railway is expected to cost RMB12.3 billion ($1.5 billion).
Earlier reports in the Beijing Times said the Ministry of Railways and the municipal government of Tianjin have each put RMB2.6 billion ($325 million) into the project, while Beijing provided requisitioned land and paid for resettlement of residents. A company has been established to manage the construction project.
The Beijing-Tianjin inter-city passenger line is believed to be the pilot project of a massive high-speed rail network in China. This will be the country’s first high-standard passenger rail.
Source: China Daily
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