China’s Winter Olympic high-speed railway to open on Monday

A high-speed railway will open on Monday between China’s capital and Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, the two venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.

It will be the world's first high-speed railway on which self-driving trains reach speeds of up to 350 kilometers per hour.

The 174-kilometer line shortens the trip between the two cities from over three hours to only 47 minutes, according to China Railway Corporation.

It will transport passengers in about one hour from Beijing to Zhangjiakou‘s Chongli District, where the 2022 Winter Olympic village is located.

The train is also designed with an area to store snowboards, a device to secure wheelchairs, and a mobile news center, where passengers can watch live Olympic broadcasts.

The line has ten stations, five in Beijing and the others in Hebei Province. They include one at the Badaling section of the Great Wall, and it has the world’s deepest railway station structure at 102 meters underground.

The construction of the railway began just four years ago. After it begins operation on Monday, it will also connect with the Zhangjiakou-Hohhot high-speed railway, cutting travel time from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to Beijing to two hours; down from nine.

China Railway Corporation said that it is also a part of the route linking Beijing to the northwest China on fast-speed tracks. Tickets sales began Saturday on the the corporation’s website and App.