BEIJING – China launched its first high-speed rail line that will travel across several bays and skim along the coast of the south-eastern province of Fujian near the Taiwan Strait, state media reported on Thursday.
A bullet train departed from Fuzhou, capital of east China’s Fujian province, on Thursday morning, setting up the opening of the 277km Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou railway, Xinhua news agency reported.
It is China’s first cross-sea, rapid line with bullet trains that will travel over bridges across three coastal bays and hit top speeds of 350kmh, state media said, citing China State Railway Group, the country’s railway operator.
Travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen, an economic hub and popular tourist destination, will be under an hour.
China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group designed the railway project. By 2022, China had 42,000km of operational high-speed railway, and the length of high-speed rail with trains regularly operating at 350kmh neared 3,200km as at June 2022.
China recently announced details of its plan to turn Fujian into a zone for integrated development with Taiwan, which sits opposite the province. China is hoping the link will enhance investment opportunities and make travel easier.
A Chinese government official said an integrated multidimensional transport network has been built in Fujian that “will make it technically possible to construct a high-speed transport passage linking the province with Taiwan”, according to state media.
Taiwan has dismissed previous Chinese plans to link the island to the rail network, which would require construction of the world’s longest undersea tunnel beneath the Taiwan Strait.
Asked about the comments, Taiwan’s China-policymaking Mainland Affairs Council said such infrastructure projects could not be “unilaterally decided”, adding that even China’s overseas Belt and Road investments needed to be discussed with host countries.
China cut off a formal talks mechanism with Taiwan’s government in 2016.
Separately, earlier this week, China unveiled its first commercial suspended monorail line in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province.
The monorail, covering 10.5km, is fully automated and requires human operation only in an emergency, China Daily reported. REUTERS
