The Chinese Ministry of Railways says that fault simulations and emergency drills will be carried out during the trial period, while the ministry also confirmed that 300km/h and 250km/h services will be offered on the line for a travel time of approximately five hours. An additional stop at Nanjing has also been added to the 300km/h service.
Operating speeds on the new high-speed line, which has been constructed within three years, were originally set at 350km/h. However, the ministry says that due to safety concerns and in an effort to reduce ticket prices, speeds have been cut.
Lowering operating speeds is major policy change adopted since Mr Shen Guangzu replaced Mr Liu Zhijun as railways minister on February 25. It is intended to reduce the cost of China's high-speed network and to make services more affordable with different ticket prices set to be offered depending on the speed of the train. Speeds on existing 350km/h services on the Beijing - Tianjin high-speed line and other inter-city routes in China will not though be reduced.
Ninety pairs of high-speed trains will be operated on the new line which is expected to carry 80 million passengers per year. Testing has been underway on various sections of the line since last year.
