Construction of an express railway between Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province, will begin next year, the City Express reported today.

Travel time between the cities will be reduced to 30 minutes, from about two hours, once construction is completed, the report said. The line will also extend to Ningbo City in Zhejiang, the report said.

During a research conference on the line, railway authorities revealed the express route would start at the under-construction Hongqiao transport hub in Shanghai. The hub will also be the terminus on the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway.

With a total investment of 27.6 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion), the Shanghai-Hangzhou route will cover 158 kilometers. The designed speed for trains on the line is 300 kilometers per hour. Five stations will be set up along the route – two in Shanghai and three in Zhejiang, the report said.

Construction started in April on the country's first express railway. It will link the capital to Shanghai and is scheduled to be completed in 2010. The railway will stretch 1,318 kilometers and include 21 stations. It will enable passengers to travel between Beijing and Shanghai in five hours, nine hours less than present trains.

(Shanghai Daily July 15, 2008)