China Launches First Ocean-Crossing High-Speed Train Line Near Taiwan Strait

Official media reported today, Thursday, that China has inaugurated its first high-speed train line that will cross bays in the ocean, extending along the southeastern coast of Fujian Province near the Taiwan Strait. The Xinhua News Agency reported that a high-speed train departed from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, this morning, marking the launch of the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Changzhou line, which is 277 kilometers long. Official media quoted China Railway Group Limited, which operates the trains in the country, stating that this is the first ocean-crossing line for high-speed trains in China, which will run on bridges crossing three coastal bays with a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour. Travel between Fuzhou and Xiamen, an economic center and popular tourist destination, will take less than an hour. The project joins China's extensive high-speed rail network. By last year, the length of operational high-speed railway lines in China reached 42,000 kilometers, and since June 2022, the length of regularly operating high-speed railways with speeds of 350 kilometers per hour has approached 3,200 kilometers.