The construction of a second lane to the railway linking Baoji City in Shaanxi Province and Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, was fulfilled on June 23, one and a half years ahead of schedule.

The two-lane railway, an important link in the region, will be operational as of July 1. By that date, a 1,750-kilometer national trunk line consisting of the Lanzhou-Baoji section and extending to Lianyungang, a port city in East China's Jiangsu Province, will be open to two-way traffic.

The rebuilding on the 487-kilometer railway, which began on January 10, 2000, cost 10.886 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion).

Experts say the upgrade will greatly alleviate the current difficulties in east-west transportation.

Upon completion, the railway will be able to accommodate trains with an average speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, and annual transportation capacity of this section will be raised from the current 13 million tons to 45 million tons. In addition, 45 pairs of passenger trains will run on the line each day compared to the current figure of 16.