Construction for a new railway between Beijing and Shanghai will start this year which would be able to run passenger trains at 200 km/h.

The construction was ratified by the State Council on March 7 and is now at the stage of investigation, Wednesday's Beijing Daily quoted an official with the Ministry of Railway as saying.

Following the present progress, the railway is likely to start construction this year, said Su Shun, deputy director of transportation department with the ministry.

Century-old Beijing-Shanghai railway was completed in 1912 and is China's busiest railway as regions along it are the most prosperous economic corridor of the country.

Last year, regions along Beijing-Shanghai railway made 43.2 percent of the gross domestic production.

The railway faced a huge demand and could not meet the requirement, said the report. Construction of a new express highway connecting the two cities has been under discussion for a dozen of years.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2006)