A sketch map of the Fuzhou – Beijing High-speed route, which is scheduled to open in 2015. [Photo by Wang Xiaofeng / xmnn.cn]

A high-speed railway linking Beijing and Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian province, will come into operation in 2015, and another railway connecting Fuzhou and Xiamen, a port city in Fujian province, will serve as an extension of the Fuzhou – Beijing line.

Six cities, including Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Putian, Zhangzhou, and Nanping, in Fujian province will be linked with Beijing on this new Fuzhou – Beijing rail route.

The new route will shorten the Xiamen – Fuzhou trip from two hours to one hour and the Xiamen — Beijing trip from 13 hours to eight.

Railways from Xiamen to Fuzhou used to overload during holidays and festivals, and the new high-speed railway is expected to help ease the crowded rail traffic.