From AFP:
China started building Friday a much-delayed high-speed link set to halve rail travel time between Beijing and Shanghai in a project costing more than 31 billion dollars, state media reported.
At a ceremony in Beijing, Premier Wen Jiabao laid the cornerstone for the 1,320-kilometre (820-mile) line, which is expected to be completed in five years, Xinhua news agency said.
“The demand for both passenger and cargo transport along this line is huge,” said Vice Railway Minister Lu Chunfeng, according to Xinhua, which said the line would cost 220.9 billion yuan (31.6 billion dollars) to build.
Read also Work commences on Shanghai-Beijing rail link from Shanghai Daily, Foreign stragetic investors allowed to finance Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, and key facts and figures on China’s high-speed railways by Xinhua.
