Work began Tuesday evening to renovate the railway from Beijing to Shanghai, one of the busiest in China, to prepare for next year's speed acceleration.

According to the builder, Beijing Railways Construction Group, 38 groups of switches will be replaced in the section 148 kilometers to 230 kilometers away from Beijing.

The orbit of the 1,462-km railway will also be changed increasing the speed to 200 kilometers per hour from 160 kilometers per hour.

During the reconstruction, trains will use temporary lines and transportation will remain normal, the builder said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2005)