The government in Shanghai's Jinshan District will invest 2.6 billion yuan (US$362 million) to rebuild an out-of-date inter-city rail link, Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

The Jinshan Tributary Rail line will be turned into a 58-kilometer-long high-speed railway. Construction is expected to start as early as July, the report said.

Train speeds will top 140 to 160 kilometers per hour on the line, which will help shorten the trip from Shanghai South Railway Station to Jinshan to about 30 minutes, the report said.

A railway was built to link Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co in 1970s. During the 1980s and 1990s, the link, which began from Zhongshan Park, became a major route for passengers between the city's urban areas and the district, the report said. It used to take more than an hour.

Operation on the line was halted in 2002 as more highways were built and bus services proved more popular, it added.

The rail line topped the district government's 10 Deeds proposals this year and is the most important of 27 projects in Jinshan, the report added.

Meanwhile, the Jinshan authority will invest 240 million yuan to build a 12.54-hectare transport hub for the rail link and construction will begin in August, the report said.

(Shanghai Daily February 15, 2008)