A new high-speed rail link will take travelers about 90 minutes from Tiananmen Square in Beijing to downtown in Tianjin after a rail network opens to the public in 2010.

Xinhuanet reports the network consists of an express rail linking Beijing South Railway Station and Tianjin Railway Station, as well as metro lines in the two cities.

Riders can take metro lines 2, 3 and 9 in Tianjin and lines 4 and 14 in Beijing before getting on the trains running on the 115-kilometer express rail that will open to the public in July 2008.

The rail journey will take riders just half an hour. The entire network construction will be completed in 2010.

Traffic between Beijing and Tianjin has slowed due to a vehicle overflows on the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway and inconveniences passengers encounter when they take municipal transport after train journeys.

In a related development, the second expressway between Beijing and Tianjin is under construction and expected to alleviate congestion on the current highway after it starts operation next year.