Railway project gets under way

SONGPAN, Sichuan: Construction of the Chengdu-Lanzhou railway to link Sichuan and Gansu provinces got under way on Saturday.

Scheduled for completion in December 2014, the 731-km line will cost almost 62 billion yuan ($9 billion) to build, and once completed will cut the journey time between the two cities from more than 17 hours to about four.

It is hoped the line will also boost economic development in Northwest and Southwest China, and provide a shot in the arm for tourism in northwest Sichuan and south Gansu province.