HARBIN: A high-speed railway traversing a permafrost zone in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province entered trial operation on Thursday (Aug 6), bringing the country's northernmost bullet-train line one step closer to official service, Xinhua reported.
A test train departed Harbin, the provincial capital, at 7.40am and arrived in the forest city of Yichun two hours and two minutes later.
According to China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co Ltd, the trial run comprehensively verifies train scheduling, arrivals, and departures, service frequency, passenger facilities, and system compatibility to provide a scientific basis for the official opening of the railway.
With a designed speed of 250 kilometres per hour, the 318-km line will slash travel time between Harbin and Yichun from about seven hours to just two hours once it becomes operational.
Heilongjiang, long known as one of China's traditional industrial powerhouses built on steel, machinery, and oil, is now pivoting toward new growth drivers. The new railway is expected to play a key role in the province's comprehensive revitalisation, while boosting tourism and the development of its ecological assets.
Running through the alpine permafrost zone, the track has been designed with numerous bridges, which together account for 72 per cent of the total length of this railway section. - Bernama-Xinhua
