A press conference on the 10th anniversary of the operation of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway takes place in Beijing on June 22 (TAO XING)  

The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway has transported a total of 1.35 billion passengers since first entering operation in June 2011, said Yan Zuokui, a member of the leadership at the Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway Co. Ltd.

Yan made the remarks at a press conference on the 10th anniversary of the operation of the high-speed railway held in Beijing on June 22.

The 1,318-km high-speed rail line starts from Beijing, ends in Shanghai, and connects Tianjin, and Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces along the line. Moreover, this rail line can allow bullet trains to run at a record speed of 350 km per hour.

“The distance traveled [by trains on this line] has exceeded 1.58 billion km, 40,000 times the length of the equator,” Yan added.

Cities along the rail line benefit a lot from its operation, not only in terms of transportation, but also when it comes to social and economic development. The building of railway stations in these cities has also brought more labor, capital and technologies to the areas.

Passengers take a high-speed train leaving from Beijing and headed to Shanghai on June 22 (TAO XING)  

Take Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province, as an example. The passing of the high-speed railway through the city has boosted its economic growth. “The GDP of Jinan reached up to 1.014 trillion yuan ($156.93 billion) in 2020, a rise of 130 percent from 440.6 billion yuan ($68 billion) in 2011 when the high-speed railway station opened to the public,” Guo Yonggui, an official from the Jinan Development and Reform Commission, said at a press conference in Jinan on the afternoon of June 22.

The construction of the station is also a basic means of introducing other rail lines, and fostering a convenient railway network for Jinan, Guo said.

“The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway has become an important engine that promotes regional coordination and development,” Yan said, “And it will continue to serve the country’s high-quality development.”

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

Comments to taoxing@bjreview.com