Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, China's first high speed rail line, has transported an average of 20,000 passengers daily since its Aug. 1 opening.

On busy days, an average of 22,000 people took the new service to Beijing, two times the previous volume from Tianjin to Beijing, according to Tianjin municipal railway department statistics on Friday.

The new service cut the 120-km journey from 70 minutes to about 30 minutes with five stops at Yizhuang, Yongle and Wuqing.

The service is shuttling spectators, athletes, media people as well as other passengers between Beijing and Tianjin, one of the Olympic co-host cities for 12 football matches from Aug. 6 to Aug. 15.

In total, 47 trains are scheduled to run daily from each city.

The railway is the world's fastest with trains running at an operational speed of 350 km per hour, according to the Ministry of Railways (MOR). It claimed high-speed trains in Japan and Spain ran at 320 km per hour, and those in France and Germany at 300 km per hour.

About 26 million people travel between the two cities annually. The MOR predicts the new line will help raise the figure to 32 million this year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)