Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line begins service

The Shanghai-Beijing high-speed train (京沪高铁) will make the run between China's two most important cities in less than five hours.

Although the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line (京沪高铁) won’t open to the public until July 1, launch ceremonies will be held today in Beijing South Railway Station and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. 

Following the ceremonies, two high-speed trains will set off on their first official runs.
The new rail link will trim the journey time between Shanghai and Beijing –- China's two most important cities -– to less than five hours.

With a construction cost of RMB 220.9 billion, the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line is 1,318 kilometers long and took three years to complete.

The train broke world records during test runs, hitting 486.1 kilometers per hour in December 2010.

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Tickets for today’s launch trains went on sale last week. David Feng, a Beijing-born Swiss-Chinese, was the first expat to purchase a Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail ticket.

Feng announced that he, along with other train buffs, will broadcast live during his journey from Beijing today via Facebook, Twitter and Sina Weibo.

The Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line will have dual price tiers based on its two operational speeds: 300 kilometers per hour and 250 kilometers per hour.
Ticket prices range between RMB 1,750 (VIP seats in the faster train) and RMB 410 (second-class seats on the slower one). The most popular ticket has been the cheaper one.

Global Times reported that more than 200 Chinese and foreign journalists were invited to ride on a Shanghai-Beijing high-speed test run on June 27.

According to the journalists onboard, the red leather seats on the train compare favorably with any airline's first class seats, with plenty of leg room and three different angles of recline.

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Each high-speed train is staffed with five cleaners who make sure the interior meets the standards of a five-star hotel. Toilets for the disabled are also available.
Between Shanghai and Beijing, the high-speed train runs through Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu, passing through seven provinces and municipalities along China's east coast, where a quarter of the country's population lives and generates 40 percent of the country's GDP