Society

Beijing-Shanghai railway gets nod from engineers

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-09 19:21

BEIJING - An inspection team consisting of 30 noted Chinese engineering academicians and experts have given the green light for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line to open.

The engineering inspection team traveled in a CRH380 train along the high-speed rail line and examined the systems of communication signal, tractive power supply, trains and operation control, as well as energy-saving and environmental protection measures.

All the tested indicators showed the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line has met the operational requirements, according to result of the engineering assessment process that concluded Thursday.

Starting May 11, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail began a one-month trial operation to finalize preparation for commercial operation.

The Ministry of Railways (MOR) has yet to announce the official date it will start commercial operations but previous reports have said it will open to public later in June or on July 1.

The 1,318-km-long high-speed rail line is expected to cut travel time between the metropolises to about five hours, with 90 pairs of bullet trains to run along it.

China plans to invest 2.8 trillion yuan ($431.7 billion) to build about 30,000 kilometers of new rail lines over the next five years, according to the MOR.