Beijing-Tianjin Inter-city Express Railway, thefastest of its kind in service in the world, beganits operation on August 1, 2008, making possiblethe urban agglomeration of Beijing andTianjin, which are the only pair of megalopolisesin the world with a straight-line distanceof about 100 kilometers. The express railwayshortens the time of city commuting to onlyhalf an hour.

The speed of the railway is designed at 300 kilometersper hour, with the peak speed reaching350 kilometers per hour. It deserves the title ofChina’s first express railway in the real sense.

As two big municipalities of North China, Beijingand Tianjin situate at the center of the circum-Bohai Bay area, one of the fastest developingand most dynamic regions of China. At present,there are more than 30 million people, amongwhom 25 million are permanent residents, livingin these two cities. Since the two cities arethe core of the circum-Bohai Bay economic rim,there is an urgent demand for the two cities tocomplement each other’s strengths.

In the past, Beijing and Tianjin were mainlyconnected through one railway and one twowayexpressway with four lanes. It is obviousthat they were unable to meet the demandof social and economic development andtherefore hampered the cooperation betweenthe two cities. It was also not convenient forpeople to travel around. To solve the problem,Beijing and Tianjin reached an agreement severalyears ago, determined to build expressrailway, expressway and airport to tackle thetraffic problem and enhance the connectionbetween each other.

Beijing-Tianjin Inter-city Express Railway kickedoff construction on July 4, 2005 and the constructionwas wrapped up on December 16, 2007,with the length of 120 kilometers and stationsalongside including South Beijing, Yizhuang, Wuqing,Tianjin and Yongle. The last stop is a reservedone. The traffic time between Beijing and Tianjinis approximately 30 minutes, with the shortestrunning interval of three minutes.

The operation of the railway has created themost convenient “Half-An-Hour-Traffic Rim”connecting Beijing and Tianjin, two municipalitiesof China, making the trip shorter, faster andmore comfortable. The railway will play an importantrole in enhancing exchange of humanresources and accelerating the regional economicintegration between the two cities, andpromoting the favorable social and economicdevelopment around circum-Bohai Bay area.

In the year 2010, Beijing and Tianjin will have“seamless traffic link” with Tianjin subway line2, 3 and 9, Beijing-Tianjin Inter-City ExpressRailway and Beijing subway line 4 and 14 functioningtogether. At that time, taking subwayand railway will be the most speedy and convenient transport method for residents travelingbetween the two cities.

The railway not only accelerates the agglomerationand integration of the two municipalities,but also opens a new stage for China’s expressrailway construction.

Beijing-Tianjin Inter-City Express Railway is thefirst inter-city express railway in operation inMedium- and Long-Term Railway Network Planand an important component of inter-city tracktransportation network of circum-Bohai Bayarea. According to the network plan, by 2010,China’s railway in operation will surpass 90,000kilometers; special railway lines for trains runningover 200 kilometers per hour will reach7,000 kilometers and fast passenger transportlines will total at 20,000 kilometers.

Upon the completion of Beijing-Tianjin, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Guangzhou Express Railways,the circum-Bohai Bay economic rim, theYangtze Delta economic circle and Pearl Rivereconomic circle will be connected, involving apopulation of approximately 800 million.