SHENZHEN - A 102-km-long high-speed railway linking south China's boomtown of Shenzhen with Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, became operational on Monday.

A seat in the VIP carriage of the high-speed train linking Shenzhen and Guangzhou, which opened Monday, costs 120 yuan. The line is expected to be extended to Hong Kong by 2015. [Photo/CFP]

The line is expected to be extended to Hong Kong by 2015, making it an important new option for passengers traveling between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Lu Chunfang, deputy minister of railways, said the Guangzhou-Shenzhen line, built at a cost of 20.4 billion yuan ($3.2 billion), is a section of the future Beijing-Hong Kong high-speed railway, which is one of the country's rail arteries currently under construction.

Upon its completion, the trip between Beijing and Shenzhen will be reduced from 23 to 10 hours.

A total of 36 pairs of shuttles have been arranged daily on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen line. A single trip takes 35 minutes at a maximum speed of 300 km per hour.