World's Longest High-Speed Rail Opens in China

  • 11 years ago
The world's longest high-speed rail line opens in China.

High-speed trains have been operational in many countries for a long time. With its newest high-speed train line, China is quickly emerging as one of the leaders in this category.

The 1,430 miles long line, utilizes bullet trains that can travel roughly 186 miles per hour. They can cover a distance that equates to a trip from New York City to Key West, Florida in eight hours.

Older trains on a parallel line take nearly 21 hours to cover the same amount of distance while Amtrak models from New York to Miami take 30 hours. The new bullet trains operate between Beijing and Guangzhou allowing for maximum speed from one place to another.

The rail line has helped to keep unemployment rates low, as thousands of residents have been hired so far. It is being referred to as one of the world’s largest infrastructure projects.

The line makes stops in several cities along the journey. There are more than 150 sets of trains that will run on the new line every day.

Trains are a crucial part of China’s transportation system. The government hopes to install a grid of high-speed railways by 2020.