Travelers can now buy tickets for the Hefei-Bengbu Passenger Special Railway through the Internet, telephone, or in rail stations and ticket-selling agencies.

Yesterday afternoon, the Shanghai Railway Bureau and Anhui Provincial Development & Reform Commission jointly held a press conference on the opening of the Hefei-Bengbu Passenger Special Railway, setting the official operation date for Oct 16.

The special railway was funded by Anhui province and the Ministry of Railways. It started construction in January 2009. It has six stations: Hefei Station, Northern Hefei Station, Shuijiahu Station, Eastern Huainan Station, Southern Bengbu Station and Bengbu Station. Its designed speed can reach 350 km/h; during the early opening phase, trains will run at 300 km/h. After opening of the Hefei-Bengbu Passenger Special Railway, high-speed trains to Beijing and Qingdao will be launched, cutting travel time from Hefei to Beijing to four hours from nine and a half hours.

Travel time from Hefei to Qingdao will be shortened to less than six hours from 14 hours. At the press conference, the Shanghai Railway Bureau announced that the railway will operate on October 16, with the first train G262 running from Hefei to Southern Beijing at 8 am. During the initial phase of operation, 15 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the special railway, nine pairs from Hefei to Southern Beijing, two pairs from Hefei to Qingdao, and four pairs from Hefei to Bengbu. Before operation of the Hefei-Bengbu Passenger Special Railway, residents of Hefei could only take Z, T and K classified trains, and the price of semi-cushioned berths ranged from 240 to 263 yuan ($38-$42). After operation, the price of second-class and first-class seats from Hefei to Southern Beijing will be 429 and 722 yuan ($68.50 - $115.30), respectively.

（anhuinews.com）