URUMQI - The high-speed railway linking Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, with Xining, capital of Qinghai province, and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, has carried more than 4.5 million people in the first year of its operation, the regional authorities announced on Sunday.

The 1,776-km line started running at speeds of up to 250 km per hour on Dec 26, 2014. Travel time from Urumqi to Lanzhou has been cut from more than 23 hours to under 12 hours.

Wang Chenyang, who lives in Urumqi but works in Turpan 200 km away, said the high-speed train has much shortened his commute time and given him more time to spend time with his family.

The train service has also boosted tourism along the route, and promoted economic exchanges between the northwest part of the country and Central Asia.