Beijing-Tianjin railway speed rises to 350 kph

TIANJIN - China on Wednesday increased the maximum speed of bullet trains on the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway to 350 km per hour (kph), reducing the inter-city travel time by five minutes.

The route now runs a Fuxing (Rejuvenation), the newest bullet train model developed in China.

The increase will shorten travel time between Beijing South Railway Station and Tianjin Railway Station from 35 minutes to 30 minutes with no price difference in fares.

"Although the time was only five minutes shorter, I was excited to see the speed of 350 kilometers per hour on the display," said passenger Zheng Yi onboard the C2002 train departing from Tianjin Wednesday.

Beijing-Tianjin inter-city trains started a new train schedule Wednesday, with daily train frequency increasing from 217 one-way services to 272, according to China Railway Beijing Group.