Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed rail begins full-line 350 kph operations

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway began full-line operations at a speed of 350 kph on Saturday, following an increase of the maximum permissible speed on its Wuhan-Guangzhou section, according to the China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

Totaling 2,298 km in length, the railway runs through six provincial-level regions -- Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong -- and connects the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, city clusters in China's central plains, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, as well as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Saturday's maximum speed upgrade has led to a 4.2 percent increase in the railway's overall transport capacity, which would be equivalent to 10.8 additional high-speed trains operating between Beijing and Guangzhou each day, or 16,000 additional seats, according to China Railway.

The fastest journey from the Beijing West Railway Station to the Guangzhou South Railway Station has been reduced by 22 minutes to seven hours and 16 minutes, according to the company.

The Beijing-Wuhan section of the railway began operating at a speed of 350 kph in June 2022.