China launches first 350km/h cross-sea high-speed railway

China's fastest cross-sea high-speed railway, which boasts a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, began operation on Thursday.　 　

A Fuxing bullet train departed from Fuzhou, the capital of east China's Fujian Province, at 9:15 a.m., marking the opening of the 277km Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou high-speed railway. 　

Being the first of its kind in China, the railway slashes the travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen, two major cities in Fujian Province, to 55 minutes, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., the country's railway operator. With stops in cities of Fuzhou, Putian, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou, the railway has been launched to boost connectivity in Fujian. 　

Xiamen North Railway Station on the Fuzhou-Xiamen high-speed railway　also started operation on Thursday. "The sensor-based ventilation system installed can automatically open or close windows according to changes in temperatures, winds and rainfall. It can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 13 metric tons per year,"　said Lu Fei, deputy chief engineer of Xiamen North Railway Station　construction project.