New high-speed railway to link central, eastern Chinese cities

BEIJING -- Tests have begun on a new high-speed railway (HSR) line between Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan Province, and Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province; signalling that it will be operational soon.

Trains on the 362 kilometer, 9 station line -- which broke ground in December 2012 -- will be able to travel at a maximum 350 km per hour, according to the China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS).

"The tests have been successful so far, but there will be more before the line is given the green light to go into operation," said Hou Fuguo, CARS passenger rail line project chief, on Wednesday.

"The Zhengzhou-Xuzhou line will be a significant milestone in China's 'four-vertical' and 'four-horizontal' HSR network," said Li Ben, assistant chief engineer of Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed passenger rail line.