The first high-speed train services from Shanghai to Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, will begin next Thursday, the Shanghai Railway Bureau said yesterday.
The recently-completed Shanghai-Kunming high speed line will cut the travel time between the two cities by two thirds to only 10 hours and 36 minutes — a big relief to many local travelers going to the popular travel resort city famous for its beautiful scenery.
Kunming is also known as the Spring City due to its nice weather.
The journey on regular trains previously took 35 hours and 34 minutes.
The first three high-speed train services from Shanghai are scheduled to depart next Thursday and Friday from Hongqiao Railway Station.
Ticket sales were launched last night, priced at 879 yuan (US$126) for second class seats and 1,475 yuan for first class seats.
Running through six provinces — Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan — the 2,252-kilometer railway is the longest east-west high-speed railroad and covers more provinces than any other service.
It is also named as the most beautiful railway by Chinese netizens.
The section between Guiyang, the capital of southwest Guizhou Province, and Kunming City, will become operational tomorrow.
It marks completion of the railroad that took nearly eight years to build.
