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Beijing-Tianjin railway starts ticket sales for Friday debut
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-01 00:02 BEIJING - Rail fans and passengers queued up on Thursday morning to buy tickets for Friday's debut of the world's fastest intercity rail line linking Beijing with Olympic co-host city Tianjin.
Tickets were available at the Beijing Railway Station, the Beijing West Railway Station and other ticket outlets. But at the Beijing South Railway Station, where the first train would leave from, ticket sales were expected to start later on Thursday, station staff told Xinhua.
The Ministry of Railways (MOR) announced on Wednesday this ultra-modern line would go into service on August 1, one week before the Games begin. The first train would leave the Beijing South Railway Station at about 11 a.m. after an official launch ceremony, the Beijing Times reported. After regular service begins on August 2, the first train would leave Beijing for Tianjin at 6:15 a.m., according to a time schedule provided by the Beijing South Railway Station. Twenty minutes later, another train would leave the Tianjin Station for Beijing. The final train would leave Beijing for Tianjin at 10:10 p.m. while in Tianjin, the final train would depart at 10:06. During regular services, there would be 47 pairs of trains every day. Trains bound for Tianjin would leave at various intervals of 15, 20 and 30 minutes. A first-class ticket costs 69 yuan while the price for a second-class ticket is 58 yuan, Vice Railway Minister Wang Zhiguo told a press conference. Fares would be unchanged in the first year of operation. The line would be the world's only line on which passenger trains could run at 350 km per hour, Wang said. It would also be the first high-speed intercity rail line in China. |
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