THE high-speed railway line connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou in North China’s Hebei Province will go into service today, China Railway Corporation said Saturday.

The railway line is a major project for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It will reduce the travel time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou, the co-host city of the 2022 Olympics, from currently over three hours to 47 minutes.

The railway is 174 km long, with a maximum designed speed of 350 kph.

Ten stations are along the railway line, namely Beijing North, Qinghe, Shahe, Changping, Badaling, Donghuayuan North, Huailai, Xiahuayuan North, Xuanhua North and Zhangjiakou.

Also, Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region opened its first high-speed railway yesterday.

The 207-km-long railway links three cities in the region including Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, Wuzhong and Zhongwei with a maximum designed speed of 250 kph.

The railway will reduce travel time between Yinchuan and Zhongwei by more than an hour, said the local State-owned capital operation group.

On Saturday, a new high-speed rail line began construction in Central China’s Hubei Province to link the two pivotal railways.

The 109-km line between the city of Yichang and Xingshan County, both in Hubei, will connect the Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu Railway that runs along the Yangtze River and the Zhengzhou-Chongqing high-speed line.  (Xinhua)