A COMPANY has been established to manage construction of the Qingdao-Rongcheng Railway, the first inter-city railway in Shandong Province.

    The 299-kilometer railway is an important part of a rail grid planned for the province. The railway is expected to go into operation in the second half of 2012, passing through Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai, and ending in Rongcheng.

    Zhai Jianming, chief of Jinan Railway Bureau, was appointed as the chairman of Qingdao-Rongcheng Inter-city Railway Co. Ltd.

    The starting point of the railway, Qingdao’s north railway station has seen the start of construction. A total of 13 stations will be constructed along the line.

    Construction is estimated to take three-and-a-half years. Once completed, the railway will shorten travel time from Qingdao to Yantian to less than one hour, and the time from Qingdao to Weihai to less than 1.5 hours.

    The railway is expected to transport 199,000 passengers each day by 2020, with this figure expected to reach 293,000 by 2030.

    (Martin Li, Song Dawei)