China's ambitious high-speed rail network has made another leap forward with the opening of the line linking Baoji city in northwest China's Shaanxi Province with Lanzhou, the capital of neighboring Gansu Province.

 

连接陕西宝鸡与甘肃兰州的高铁线路即将开工，中国高铁网的完善又向前卖了一步。

 

The new route connects northwest China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces, as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous¹ Region, to the country's rapidly expanding high-speed rail network.

 

Until the completion of the Baoji-Lanzhou link, the 1,776-kilometer Lanzhou-Xinjiang high-speed rail line in the north western region, which was completed in 2014, was unable to reach central and eastern China.

 

The new 401-kilometer-long line bridges the gap.

 

With an operating speed of 250 km per hour, the rail line slashes² travel times between Xi'an and Lanzhou to just three hours from the previous six.

 

Xu Jiangen is the deputy chief engineer of the Xi'an Railway Administration.

 

"After coming on stream, the line will connect northwest areas with the rest of the country. Residents living in northwest region can travel conveniently to the south-eastern part," Xu said.

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