A high-speed rail line linking Fuzhou and Xiamen in southwest China's Fujian Province went into operation Monday, as part of the Shenzhen-Shanghai high-speed railway.

The railway, 275 km in length, is designed for trains traveling at a maximum speed of 250 km per hour. It will reduce the travel time between Fuzhou and Xiamen to around 90 minutes from the current 11 hours.

Three pairs of high speed passenger trains will run between Shanghai and Xiamen during the upcoming Shanghai World Expo to cope with an anticipated increase in passenger numbers.

Fujian, on the western side of the Taiwan Strait, is an important destination for Taiwan residents visiting the mainland. However, roads from Fujian to other provinces are often congested.

"The new line, together with another high-speed railway built last year to connect Fuzhou with Zhejiang Province's Wenzhou and Hangzhou, will help tackle the problem," said Zhang Jingui, an official with the railway construction office of Fujian Province.

Another three high-speed rail lines are under construction in Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces to link cities, including Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hangzhou and Shanghai.

"These railways, covering a total of 1,650 km, will constitute a transport network linking the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta," said Tong Yongzhao, an official with Nanchang Railway Bureau, which is responsible for the construction.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2010)