The Chinese Ministry of Railways (MOR) announced on Wednesday that the world's fastest intercity rail line linking Beijing with Olympic co-host Tianjin would be put into formal service on Aug. 1, one week before the Games begin.

The Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway would be the world's only rail line on which passenger trains could run at 350 km per hour, Vice Railway Minister Wang Zhiguo told a press conference.

The new service would cut the 120-km journey from the current 70 minutes to about 30 minutes, according to Wang. There are five stations along the line: the cavernous new Beijing South Railway Station, Yizhuang, Yongle, Wuqing and Tianjin.

The intercity rail line will shuttle spectators, athletes, media people and other passengers between Beijing and Tianjin, which is to host 12 Olympic football matches from Aug. 6 to 15.

"The opening of the Beijing-Tianjin railway ahead of the Beijing Games is undoubtedly good news for athletes and other passengers," Wang said.

The railway, on which construction started in July 2005, was built at a total cost of 21.5 billion yuan (3.1 billion U.S. dollars), said Wang.

Eighty-six percent of the line, or about 100 km, was built on an elevated alignment because the area's alluvial soil was sensitive to ground settlement.

The line has been under trial operation since July 1, during which President Hu Jintao became one of the first passengers. "The high-speed trains have been a milestone in the history of China's railway development," Hu said during his ride on July 25.

Zhang Shuguang, MOR deputy chief engineer, said earlier that trains achieved a maximum speed of 394.3 km per hour during test run.

With the line, China would have the world's fastest high-speed rail services, Zhang told reporters earlier during a test ride for media people on July 22.

Wang, the vice minister, also told the press conference that sale of tickets for the Aug. 1 debut would start at 8 a.m. on Thursday at the Beijing South Railway Station. The station was the largest one in Asia and cost 7 billion yuan (1.02 billion U.S. dollars).

A first-class ticket costs 69 yuan while the price for a second-class ticket is 58 yuan, said Wang. A total of 10 eight-car trains which can seat around 600 passengers would be operating on the line.

At the early stage after the official opening, a train would leave Beijing for Tianjin every half hour and another train would travel at the same time in the opposite direction.

These sleek trains, with aircraft-like cabins, swivel seats, spacious interiors and rooftop solar panels, were built by the Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company.

Called the CRH-3 (China Railway High-speed), these trains were China's first self-designed and self-manufactured passengers trains.

The MOR had said about 26 million passengers traveled between the two cities every year, and this new line was forecast to raise the figure to 32 million in 2008.

Wang said more trains would be put into service if necessary as the signal control system allowed trains at minimum intervals of three minutes.

At least three kinds of train services already run between the two cities.

Trains of the D-category ran at between 200 and 250 km per hour and took 70 minutes. Passengers needed to pay 51 yuan for a first-class seat on the D-category train and 42 yuan for a second-class seat.

Trains of the K-category ran slower and took 100 minutes to travel between the two cities. The maximum fare is 20 yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)