Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway conducts test-drive

The high-speed railway connecting the major cities of Northeast China's Harbin and Dalian is conducting its first test run after 5 years of construction.

The train departed from Harbin at half past 7 Monday morning, and the whole journey is expected to last three and a half hours. The new line is 921 kilometres long and has 24 stops, covering major cities in Northeast China.

This is the only high-speed railway in the world designed for a frozen, high-altitude region. It was a major challenge to build a railway across Northeast China, where winter temperatures can drop to minus forty degrees Celsius. Special snow melting and anti-freezing facilities are built into the roadbed and power substations. The train has cut the journey by as much as 9 hours.