Railway linking Chengdu and Kunming fully operational in SW China

People of Yi ethnic group perform on a Fuxing bullet train coded C57 running on the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in southwest China, Dec. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

CHENGDU, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- A railway linking Chengdu and Kunming, two major cities in southwest China, is now fully operational with the opening of its last section on Monday.

With a designed speed of 160 km per hour, the new 915-km line, which runs almost parallel to an existing railway link between Chengdu and Kunming, cuts the travel time from 19 hours to 7.5 hours.

The new line runs through a number of cities and prefectures, such as Chengdu, Meishan, Leshan, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Panzhihua in Sichuan Province, and Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Kunming in Yunnan Province.

This aerial photo taken on Dec. 24, 2022 shows a Fuxing high-speed train making a trial run before the opening of the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in Mianning County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

This aerial photo taken on Dec. 24, 2022 shows a Fuxing high-speed train making a trial run before the opening of the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in Mianning County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

A passenger shows a ticket at a Fuxing bullet train coded C57 on the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in southwest China, Dec. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Passengers board a Fuxing bullet train coded C57 on the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway at Chengdu South Railway Station in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

People of Yi ethnic group pose for a group photo before the departing of a Fuxing bullet train coded C57 on the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway at Chengdu South Railway Station in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 26, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

A Fuxing high-speed train makes a trial run before the opening of the new Chengdu-Kunming Railway in Mianning County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 24, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)