A joint test of ferry, port and bridge began yesterday at the Bohai cross-sea railway ferry project.

The project will connect Yantai City, eastern China's Shandong Province, and Dalian City, northeastern Liaoning Province. The test comes in advance of the project's trial operation in September.

The project is China's longest cross-sea railway ferry route.

The ferry will link up a railway passage in eastern China from Harbin City, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, to Shanghai.

Besides creating a new railway link, the ferry project is also expected to improve exchange between northeastern China, the Bohai Sea circle and the Yangtze River Delta - China's three major economic areas.

The three regions contribute approximately a third of China's gross domestic products.

Once the project launches, trains will be ferried between Yantai to Dalian, to avoid a long detour, cutting transport time and cost.

The shortest direct distance between Shandong Peninsula, where Yantai is located, and Liaodong Peninsula, where Dalian is located, is 159.8 kilometers.

The sea used to disrupt the railway link, forcing trains to make a long detour. The ferry project will reduce train travel distances by 600 to 1,600 kilometers compared to running on the current railway network.

In its initial stage, the Yantai-Dalian ferry service will be able to transport 3.8 million tons of railway cargo a year from Dalian to Yantai, and the reverse line will have an annual capacity of 3 million tons.

In addition to trains, the ferries will also carry autos and passengers.

(Shanghai Daily July 18, 2006)