Guizhou province will usher in an era of high-speed rail within the next 3-5 years.

Its railway mileage will reach 3,000km by 2015 and 4,200km by 2020.

Investment in railway construction totals 148.5 billion yuan ($24.25 billion). A total of 26.7 billion yuan will be invested in construction this year, making it the largest project of its kind in Southwest China and the third largest across the country.

As the capital city of Guizhou, Guiyang needs to focus on railway construction, especially urban railways and high-speed rail around the city, in order to improve the condition of urban traffic, said Zhao Kezhi, provincial Party secretary, on August 9 at the provincial railway construction symposium.

Currently Line 1 of the Guiyang urban railway and Guiyang North Railway Station are under construction. The cost for building Line 1, measuring 33.6km, is estimated at 19.3 billion yuan.

Guiyang North Railway Station, which is composed of 15 platforms, will be the biggest railway station in Southwest China.

Benefiting from more advanced transportation, Guiyang, with its ecological and environmental resources, will attract more domestic and overseas investment, according to Zhao.

Miaotian Tunnel, which measures 3,300km, is under construction between Wudang district in Guiyang and Longli county in Qiandongnan prefecture. The tunnel is expected to be completed at the end of this month.