high speed rail line Beijing to Shanghai opens tomorrow

A high-speed train leaves the Beijing South Station for Shanghai during a test run on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in Beijing on 27 June 2011. (China Railway High Speed photo)

Begun in April 2008 and stretching an impressive 1,318 km (819 miles), the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway, or shortened as the Jinghu High-Speed Railway, is due to open tomorrow, 30 June.

The railway line was the first one designed for 380 km/h commercial running. The non-stop train from Beijing South to Shanghai Hongqiao was expected to finish the 1,305 km journey in just short of 4 hours, averaging 329 km/h, making it the fastest scheduled train in the world, compared to 9 hours, 49 minutes by the fastest trains running on the parallel old railway. However, in the wake of the dismissal of Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun last February, it was announced that the railway would be slowed down to 300 km/h. At this speed, it will take 4 hours, 48 minutes for the journey, with one stop in Nanjing South.