China has completed the construction of over 20,000 kilometers of high-speed railway track network in the country, becoming the world’s longest bullet train network.

The high-speed railway links Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province with Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu province. A 360-km railway line connecting west with two major north-south lines helps to cut travel time between the west and east, according to China Daily. From 11 hours, the travel time between Xi'an and Shanghai will now be six hours.

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The first train operating on the Zhengzhou-Xuzhou high-speed railway stops at Shangqiu Railway Station, central China's Henan Province. A new high-speed railway (HSR) line between Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan Province, and Xuzhou in eastern Jiangsu Province started operation over the weekend.

The line has nine stations and trains would run at a speed of up to 300 kph in the initial period, Business Standard reported. The construction of the line began in December 2012, and test operation started in April 2016. With the operation of the new line, China's high-speed railway lines have exceeded 20,000 km in total length, becoming the world's longest.

In mid-July, two trains traveling at 420 km per hour in opposite directions passed each other on parallel tracks, the fastest event of its kind. In the next few years, trains at a speed of over 500 km per hour would run on the Beijing-Shenyang line.

China is competing with Japan to market the bullet train network in India and various other countries. While Japan bagged the contract to build Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train, China is conducting feasibility studies to build the bullet train track between Chennai and New Delhi.

Tagschina, bullet train, world’s longest bullet train network, china high-speed railway, high speed railway 20000 km