High-speed rail section starts test runs in Jilin

Updated: 2015-08-11 07:57

By Liu Mingtai in Jilin and Zhang Yi in Beijing(China Daily)

Songhua Lake. [Photo/China Daily]

"I have to go to Changchun, capital of Jilin province, every month for a business trip," said Wang Xiaodong, a member of the staff at an international trade zone in Hunchun.

The beautiful Jilin-Hunchun rail is part of the Changchun-Hunchun high-speed railway, which ranges 472 km.

"I take a taxi to the city of Tumen from Hunchun and have to spend a whole night on a regular train to Changchun, but now it will only take me three hours from Hunchun to Changchun by express train."

A resident of Changchun, surnamed Wang, said: "I can't wait to see the picturesque scenery along the railway line with the multiple layers of colors of the landscape. I can hardly believe that it takes me less than three hours to go to Hunchun."

Aiming to provide passengers with the most efficient tour, the designers and construction workers built 115 bridges with a total length of 91 km, accounting for a quarter of the railway section.

In addition, 85 tunnels have been built to shorten the distance, cutting the journey by more than 40 percent.

Since Jilin is taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, the line, as an indispensable part of the major transportation network in Northeast China, will play an important role, increasing tourism and cultural exchanges, the region's railway authority said.

zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn