China began service Wednesday morning on the world’s longest high-speed rail line, covering a distance in eight hours that is about equal to that from New York to Key West, Florida, or from London across Europe to Belgrade.
Bullet trains traveling 300 kilometers an hour, or 186 miles an hour, began regular service between Beijing and Guangzhou, the main metropolis in southeastern China. Older trains still in service on a parallel rail line take 21 hours; Amtrak trains from New York to Miami, a shorter distance, still take nearly 30 hours.
Completion of the Beijing-Guangzhou route is the latest sign that China has resumed rapid construction on one of the world’s largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects, a network of four north-south routes and four east-west routes that span the country. Read the full text of the article written by Keith Bradsher published: December 26, 2012 in the New York Times.
Source: CCTV Video: Last section of Beijing-Guangzhou high speed rail begins test run
- Taste of travelling on Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway in the People’s Daily on line
- Longest high-speed rail line takes smooth test run in the China Daily
- High-speed train route from Beijing to Guangzhou ‘to ease economic slowdown’ in the South China Morning Post
- China opens world’s longest high-speed railway line in the The Guardian
See also
- An article on the shock of the travellers at the prices of the tickets: Tickets go on sale for high-speed rail link between Beijing and Guangzhou in the South China Morning Press
- and A complete guide to China’s high-speed rail (CNN)
