The elevated railway line 2 in the city will start formal operation Saturday.

The line, with a length of 19.15 kilometres, started trial operation on December 28, 2004, has carried more than 1.9 million passengers and endured the severe challenge of the huge crowd during the New Year's Day, the Spring Festival and the May Day holidays.

The ticket price varies according to the length a passenger travels on the line, but the maximum will be 5 yuan. The automatic checking system is under final examination.

At present, nine trains are qualified for the formal operation. Starting from Saturday, the interval between every two trains will be shortened to 7 to 8 minutes and the operation time will last from 7 am to 10 pm every day.

As one of the important infrastructures in the southwest China's municipality, the project started construction in December, 2000. The line will be the first one on the Chinese mainland that can cross a city at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

The total investment for the project stood at 3.5 billion yuan, according to a senior official of the railway company. Most of the key technologies are developed by local companies.

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