Intercity railway network gets the green light

China's top economic planner has greenlighted a proposed intercity railway network linking Beijing, Tianjin and neighboring Hebei province, according to a statement published on its website on Monday.

The blueprint, which targets 2020 as its initial phase, consists of nine railway lines with a total length of 1,100 kilometers, according to the statement by the National Development and Reform Commission, which estimated total investment of 247 billion yuan ($36 billion).

The network is a major infrastructure project of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integrated development plan.