Hunan high-speed railway gets major boost

The construction of a high-speed railway in Central China's Hunan province got a major boost when the first cement-and-steel box girder was installed on Zhangjiashan Bridge, helping to ensure the line will officially run by the end of 2021.

The 816-metric-ton box girder was successfully put in place to link the first two piers of the bridge, part of the Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua High-Speed Railway, which kicked off its construction on Dec 18, 2016 with an investment of 39 billion yuan ($5.6 billion). The train will run at 350 kilometers per hour.

The 247.5-km long railway linking the top-rated Wulingyuan scenic spot in Zhangjiajie city in the north and Huaihua city in the south is expected to help boost tourism in northwestern Hunan when it goes into operation.