Details of China's planned second intercity express rail link between Jiujiang, on the lower reach of the Yangtze River, and Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province, were unveiled on Thursday.

Jiangxi was selected for the second intercity express because it sits on the economic corridor along the Yangtze River and serves as a hub of shipping and land transport in east China, according to industry experts.

It was an important link on the Beijing-Kowloon Railway, the north-south trunk rail between the capital and Hong Kong.

The Nanchang-Jiujiang intercity railway will start at Lushan, the popular summer resort in Jiujiang City, and follow the existing Beijing-Kowloon line inside Jiangxi, ending at Nanchang's north station, said Ling Chengxing, deputy governor of Jiangxi.

Almost 97 km of new track would be laid for the 131.27 km, Ling said at the launch of Jiangxi Provincial Local Railway Construction Group Company.

The company, with financing from Jiangxi provincial government, would be responsible for the planning, design, construction, management and operation of all railways in Jiangxi, including the intercity express.

The provincial government and the Ministry of Railways would equally share the estimated 6.16-billion-yuan (770 million US dollars) cost of the new railway's construction, which was to be completed in 2009.

Trains would run on the dual track at up to 200 km per hour, alleviating the pressure on the Beijing-Kowloon service and would cut the rail journey time between the cities from 90 minutes to 40 minutes.

China's first intercity express is the 115-km Beijing-Tianjin link, which is under construction and should begin operation in 2008.

Source: Xinhua