The high-speed railway connecting China's major northeastern cities of Harbin and Dalian will begin operation next Saturday. The Ministry of Railways said all final preparations have been made.

The high-speed railway can travel at 350 kilometres per hour in minus forty degrees Celsius.

It is the only high-speed railway in the world designed for a frozen, high-altitude region.

The new line is 921 kilometres long and has 24 stops, covering major cities in Northeast China.

Zhou Li, Diector of China's Ministry of Railways, said, "Besides the low temperature, the region along the line can see maximum snowfall of 30 centimeters and maximum 205 centimeters depth of frozen ground."

Special snow melting and anti-freezing facilities are built into the roadbed and power substations.

And after extensive testing, it's all systems go.

Zhou Li, said, "The key parts of the train's equipment have passed the low temperature test. The trains for the line have conducted their operation tests."

The railway is expected to make travel easier and to bring economic benefits to the region.

It will ease the freight transportation capacity on railways in northeast China.

And passengers will benefit too. The high-speed line will cut travel time between Dalian and Harbin by as much as 9 hours.

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