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Trial prices for Beijing-Shanghai bullet trains set

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-13 11:35

A train leaves a railway station in Shanghai, June 13, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's railway ministry announced Monday speed-based trial prices for the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway.

Tickets for trips on trains running at 300 kph will be priced between 555 yuan (US$ 85.6) for second-class seats and 1,750 yuan for business class. Prices for journeys 250-kph trains will range from 410 yuan for second-class seats to 650 yuan for first-class.

Prices will float according to the market and for the good of passengers, said Vice Minister of Railways Hu Yadong at a press conference.

There will be 63 pairs of trains with the speed of 300 kph every day, cutting travel time to 4 hours and 48 minutes. The additional 27 pairs of trains running 250 kph will complete the trip in about 8 hours, 2 hours shorter than the current high-speed trains.

The ministry decided to slow the speed to 300 kph instead of the previously planned 350 kph for cost and safety concerns, Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu said in April.

The 1,318-kilometer rail will go into commercial service at the end of this month, after trial operations that began May 11.

The 136 ordinary trains currently in use between the two metropolises will continue providing service after the bullet trains commence service, according to the ministry.