CHINA's latest high-speed line linking Guangzhou with Wuhan was officially opened on December 26 by the minister of railways Mr Liu Zhijn, the CPC secretary of Guangdong province Mr Wang Yang, and the governor of Huang Huahua province. The inaugural train departed Guangzhou North at 08.56 and reached a maximum speed of 354km/h during the 2h 49min trip to Wuhan. Service trains will complete the trip in about three hours compared with 10h 17min by the fastest conventional train on the existing 1069km line.
CHINA's latest high-speed line linking Guangzhou with Wuhan was officially opened on December 26 by the minister of railways Mr Liu Zhijn, the CPC secretary of Guangdong province Mr Wang Yang, and the governor of Huang Huahua province. The inaugural train departed Guangzhou North at 08.56 and reached a maximum speed of 354km/h during the 2h 49min trip to Wuhan. Service trains will complete the trip in about three hours compared with 10h 17min by the fastest conventional train on the existing 1069km line.
The Guangzhou-Wuhan line is 1100km long, of which 713km is elevated or in tunnel. Construction took about four and half years and cost an estimated $US 17 billion. A new 20-track station has been built in Wuhan.
The line will form the southern section of a 350km/h line being built from Wuhan via Zhengzhou and Shijiazhuang to Beijing. This line is expected to open in 2012, cutting the Beijing - Guangzhou journey time from 21 hours to eight.
