'Bullet train' study gets nod
The State Council has approved a feasibility study for a 'bullet train' link between Shanghai and Beijing, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website.
The new trains - capable of travelling at up to 350km/h - would cut travel time between the two cities from 12 hours to just five.
The upgrade could cost as much as 200 billion yuan, but the exact price is not known.
The statement by the NDRC - the mainland's top planning agency - said only that the State Council had given its approval.
However, yesterday's Shanghai Daily reported that the high-speed route would cover 1,318km, passing through 21 possible stops in Tianjin and cities in the provinces of Hebei , Shandong , Anhui and Jiangsu .
Ministry of Railways spokesman Wang Yongping told the newspaper the exact commencement date for the service had yet to be decided.
It was widely reported early this year that the high-speed train between Beijing and Shanghai would be operational by 2010 - the year Shanghai holds the World Expo.
The high-speed rail link has been under discussion for more than a decade.
The NDRC statement did not say anything about the technology the high-speed trains would use or the new service's likely fare. Earlier press reports said fares may be between 600 yuan and 700 yuan - about half the average price of an air ticket.
Four foreign companies are said to be interested in providing the technology, but the Shanghai Daily said Railways Minister Liu Zhijun favoured using locally developed technology.
The central government has been planning to build more high-speed railways lines in areas such as Bohai Bay, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.
The mainland is undergoing a railway construction frenzy with a total of 80,000km of railway tracks being built.
