Photo: www.shanghaiist.com
China is taking another step in its ambitious plans to have the largest, fastest and most technologically advances railway system in the world by 2020. Starting with Wednesday (December 10) Chinese travelers will cover the 914 miles (1,471 km) trip from Guangzhou to Shanghai in just seven hours.
The new high-speed railway is part of a total 32 new high-speed routes that will all go into operation tomorrow. According to Shanghaiist, the trip between Shaghai and Guanghzhou, Guangdong province has been shaved down from 16 hours to 6 hours and 51 minutes, while travelers looking to go from Shanghai to scenic Guilin, Guangxi province will now be able to make the trip in about nine hours, versus the previous 19 hours.
As to the price, it's quite reasonable to be honest. According to the source, the business-class tickets from Guangzhou to Shanghai will cost about 2,500 RMB ($404/EUR326), while first-class and second-class trips will cost around 1,300 RMB ($210/EUR170) and 800 RMB ($129/EUR104), respectively.
We’re obviously not that surprised of China’s new route, considering we’re basically talking about a train capable of traveling with speeds of about 124mph (200 km/h), especially considering that Japan is currently the leader at high-speed trains and all. But since we stumbled upon this information we figured it would be nice to share some of China’s plans for the future years.
You see, the construction of high-speed railways in China began with the building of the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang High-Speed Railway in 1999. Now the high-speed rail network in the entire country is the largest in the world. As of the end of 2012, according to China Highlights, there are about 10,500 miles (17,000 kilometers) of high-speed rail service, accommodating trains of an average speed of 124 mph (200 km/h) or higher.
Still not impressed? Get this: China is planning to invest $300 billion (EUR242 billion) to build the best system in the world by 2020. At that point it’s depicted it will reach 18,640 miles (30,000 kilometers) with the major rail lines being completed.
As to the price, it's quite reasonable to be honest. According to the source, the business-class tickets from Guangzhou to Shanghai will cost about 2,500 RMB ($404/EUR326), while first-class and second-class trips will cost around 1,300 RMB ($210/EUR170) and 800 RMB ($129/EUR104), respectively.
We’re obviously not that surprised of China’s new route, considering we’re basically talking about a train capable of traveling with speeds of about 124mph (200 km/h), especially considering that Japan is currently the leader at high-speed trains and all. But since we stumbled upon this information we figured it would be nice to share some of China’s plans for the future years.
You see, the construction of high-speed railways in China began with the building of the Qinhuangdao-Shenyang High-Speed Railway in 1999. Now the high-speed rail network in the entire country is the largest in the world. As of the end of 2012, according to China Highlights, there are about 10,500 miles (17,000 kilometers) of high-speed rail service, accommodating trains of an average speed of 124 mph (200 km/h) or higher.
Still not impressed? Get this: China is planning to invest $300 billion (EUR242 billion) to build the best system in the world by 2020. At that point it’s depicted it will reach 18,640 miles (30,000 kilometers) with the major rail lines being completed.
Google News