Intercity rail line links Beijing, Jixian county

BEIJING -- An intercity rail line linking Beijing with Jixian county in Tianjin municipality, home to the renowned Mount Pan, opened on Friday.

The 82 km line, with a maximum speed of 120 km per hour, is the first intercity line to link the capital with a nearby county.

A one-way trip takes 59 minutes and costs 14.5 yuan ($2.4), according to the Beijing Railway Bureau.

Jixian, located in the north of Tianjin, is 90 km away from Beijing and 110 km away from Tianjin.

With government plans to boost coordinated development in the region, 3,796 km of train track will eventually link Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province, according to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Intercity Railway Investment Co Ltd, which was founded last year by state-owned enterprise China Railway and the governments of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

Construction on two intercity railways linking Beijing with Binhai New District in Tianjin, and Tangshan city in Hebei will start before the end of the year, according to the company.