Construction of Hebei high-speed railway to start

The construction of a high-speed railway linking Hengshui and Cangzhou cities in North China's Hebei province is expected to start by the end of the year, adding a new rail line to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

The 223.97-kilometer line will have 12 stops in the two cities, including the stations in Hengshui North, Wuyi, Cangzhou West, New Huanghua and Bohai New Area, according to a report by Hebei Daily.

Trains will travel at speeds of 250 kilometers per hour and the annual passenger volume will be around 25 million, it said.

With an investment of about 35 billion yuan ($5 billion), the high-speed railway will be completed in about three-and-a-half years, the report said.

The line links with several existing major railways running through Hebei, including the Shijiazhuang-Jinan and Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railways.

Together with the Shijiazhuang-Jinan high-speed railway, the line will be called the Shi-Heng-Cang intercity railway.

It will cut the travel time from Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei, to Cangzhou to one hour from the current two-and-a-half hours.