Last leg of China's longest east-west high-speed rail route opens

The last leg of an east-west high-speed railway corridor traveling through three time zones opened on Monday, as the longest east-west high-speed railway passage in China's high-speed railway network.

The 3,422-kilometer railway passage starts from the coastal city Lianyungang in East China's Jiangsu province and ends at Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, passing through the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

It is a decadelong project as the first section of the route, from Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, to Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, was put into operation in 2010. The last section of the route - the 185-km line from Lianyungang to Xuzhou, Jiangsu province - opened on Monday.

Passengers can travel from Lianyungang to Xuzhou within an hour thanks to the new section.

There is no direct railway service from Lianyungang to Urumqi as China's direct bullet trains usually travel within 2,500 km to ensure safety.

The passage will provide strong support for the development of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor, according to a statement by the China State Railway Group, the national railway operator.