The G875 bullet train bound for Shenzhen at Changsha South Railway Station in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, June 15, 2024. Xinhua
The Beijing-Guangzhou High-speed Railway began full-line operations at a speed of 350 kilometers per hour on Saturday, following an increase of the maximum permissible speed on its Wuhan-Guangzhou section, according to the China State Railway Group (China Railway).
A driver checks the operational status of safety equipment onboard the G875 bullet train bound for Shenzhen on June 15, 2024. /Xinhua
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 and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
A screen shows the speed of the G875 bullet train bound for Shenzhen on June 15, 2024. /Xinhua
Saturday's maximum speed upgrade has led to a 4.2 percent increase in the railway's overall transport capacity, which is equivalent to 10.8 additional high-speed trains operating between Beijing and Guangzhou each day, or 16,000 additional seats, according to China Railway.
A train attendant checks the luggage rack onboard the G875 bullet train bound for Shenzhen on June 15, 2024. /Xinhua
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.