China's first high-speed railway, running between Beijing and Shanghai, will go into operation in 2010, the Ministry of Railways announced Monday.

Construction is about to begin and is expected to be completed in five years, ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said.

Listed as a priority in China's mid and-long-term railway network program, it will be the most expensive and technically-advanced rail route in China, he said.

The 1,318 km-long rail line will run parallel to the existing Beijing-Shanghai track, and take in 21 passenger train stations, said Wang.

Passenger trains would be able to run at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour, allowing for a five-hour trip between the two cities -- nine hours less than the current journey.

When the new railway opened, said Wang, the existing line would be used as a freight line, with an annual capacity of 130 million tons, easing transport pressure along the route.

He Huawu, the ministry's chief engineer, said more than 70 percent of the technologies to be used in the high-speed railway would be developed in China.

He said investment channels for the railway would be expanded to inspire fund-raising by domestic and overseas investors.

Running through the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai and the provinces of Hebei in north China, and eastern Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces, the new line links China's two booming economic zones, namely, the Bohai Bay Rim and the Yangtze River Delta, and is expected to form the country's busiest railway corridor.

Source: Xinhua