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On July 19, 2010 China's Ministry of Railways held a ceremony in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, to mark laying of the first tracks for the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

The 1,318-kilometer-long high-speed railway project, which is also known as the Jinghu High-Speed Railway, involves an investment of CNY220 billion. Construction started in April 2008 and the line is expected to open in 2012.

The ministry says that it expects that the laying of the railway track will be completed by the end of 2010.

Trains on the new line are expected to maintain an average speed of 350 kilometers per hour, with maximum speeds of up to 380 kilometers per hour.

This will be world's longest high-speed rail link and will cut the railway travel time between Beijing and Shanghai from the current 10 hours to four hours. It is expected to carry 160 million passengers a year.

chinahospitalitynews