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The Beijing-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway, the world's longest high-speed railway, started formal operations on Dec. 26, cutting the travel time between the two cities to around eight hours.
The railway linking the Bohai Economic Rim, Central Plains Economic Zone, Wuhan Urban Economic Circle, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Economic Circle, and Pearl River Delta Economic Zone will greatly boost the economic development of areas along the way and accelerate the transfer of industries.
It is estimated that the railway will add more than 30 billion yuan to China's gross domestic product (GDP) every year.
"The opening of the railway will effectively reduce the social time cost, and make traveling more convenient. It can play a great role in boosting coordinated regional economic and social development, promoting the integration of neighboring cities, and accelerating urbanization and industrialization along the way," said Zhou Li, director of science and technology at the Ministry of Railways.
The railway's Beijing-Zhengzhou section alone will add over 275.8 billion yuan to the country's GDP by 2030, equivalent to 15.3 billion yuan every year, according to research by the Third Railway Survey and Design Institute Group Corporation (TSDI) and the Development Research Center (DRC) of the State Council.
An expert said that the railway's Zhengzhou-Guangzhou section links the economically active Central Plains Economic Zone, Wuhan Urban Economic Circle, and Pearl River Delta Economic Zone. It will play a much greater role in boosting regional economic development than the Beijing-Zhengzhou section, and add much more than 15 billion yuan to the country's GDP every year, according to the TSDI and DRC.
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