The Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway will be put into operation in 2010, China's Ministry of Railway said in Beijing Monday.

The construction of the railway will be kicked off soon and completed in five years, the ministry said.

The new rail line will allow passenger trains to run at the speed of 350 kilometers per hour, meaning the whole trip will take only five hours, or nine hours less than that at current speed.

(Xinhua News Agency April 3, 2006)