A test run of the inter-city high-speed railway between Beijing and Tianjin, the first of its kind in China, will be held in the first quarter next year, an official said on Monday.

Ren Zhongyu, an official of the railway project, made the remarks after the rail laying was completed on Monday evening, five days ahead of schedule.

Workers started laying the track on Nov. 23 from the Tianjin station and had expected to finish the whole 115 kilometers by Dec. 15.

Designed for a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the railway will be put into use before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will cut the rail journey between the two cities from the current 70 minutes to around 30 minutes.

(Xinhua News Agency, December 11, 2007)