BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday opened the world's longest high-speed rail line that more than halves the time required to travel from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.
The opening of the 2,298 kilometer (1,428 mile)-line was commemorated by the 9 a.m. departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou for Beijing an hour later.
China has massive resources and considerable prestige invested in its showcase high-speed railways program.
But it has in recent months faced high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the summer of 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash.
Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 kph (186 mph) with a total travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the two cities by train was more than 20 hours.
The line also makes stops in major cities along the way, including provincial capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha.
More than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Railways.
Railway is an essential part in China's transportation system, and the government plans to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020.
The opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to more than 9,300 km (5,800 miles) — about half its 2015 target of 18,000 km.
Friday, May 24 2013 6:16 PM EDT2013-05-24 22:16:27 GMT
When workers installed one of the much-heralded bike-sharing stations on West 22nd Street near 10th Avenue, they put it right in front of the brownstones.
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Friday, May 24 2013 6:09 PM EDT2013-05-24 22:09:59 GMT
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Authorities say police divers will be back in the Hudson River to resume the search for a man who went into the water while fishing from an Albany-area dock.
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Friday, May 24 2013 4:44 PM EDT2013-05-24 20:44:00 GMT
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Connecticut is making $5 million available immediately to cities and towns to help reimburse them for school safety and security upgrades following the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
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Friday, May 24 2013 4:02 PM EDT2013-05-24 20:02:22 GMT
WCS photo
Coney Island's famed New York Aquarium, devastated by Superstorm Sandy, will partially reopen Saturday, May 25, 2013. The Wildlife Conservation Society on Friday showed members of the media parts of
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Friday, May 24 2013 3:40 PM EDT2013-05-24 19:40:02 GMT
The mastermind of a botched robbery that resulted in the death of an NYPD officer has been convicted of murder. Nelson Morales was also convicted Friday of burglary in the December 2011 incident that
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Friday, May 24 2013 3:29 PM EDT2013-05-24 19:29:58 GMT
The National Park Service is ending unpaid leave for U.S. Park Police officers earlier than expected. National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said the furloughs will end on June 3, after just
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Friday, May 24 2013 2:46 PM EDT2013-05-24 18:46:22 GMT
A Bronx teacher says her language lesson was lost in translation when she was fired for calling a student "Negro" — though she claims she was simply using the Spanish word for the color "black".
A Bronx teacher says her language lesson was lost in translation when she was fired for calling a student "Negro" — though she claims she was simply using the Spanish word for the color "black".
