The railway linking Fuzhou city and Pingtan county is being built successfully and is slated to open for traffic in April 2019, Fuzhou Evening News reported, citing the city’s Development and Reform Commission on Sept 8.

About 1 billion yuan ($163 million) of investment has been made, accounting for four percent of the estimated accrued investment of 26.8 billion yuan, said the Commission.

The construction of the railway started on October last year.

The railway line stretches 88.4 kilometers, and has a designed speed of 160 km per hour (Fuzhou-Fuzhou South) and 200 km per hour (Fuzhou South to Pingtan), with a passenger capacity of 50 million and cargo capacity of 15 million tons.

The line will start at Fuzhou, and cross the Minjiang River, Xiaolian Island, Dalian Island and finally arrive at Pingtan railway station near Erbu Mountain in the county's Zhonglou town, after making a total of six stops.

The railway project involves building a double layer bridge across Haitan Strait, which is said to be the first cross-sea railroad bridge in China. It will span 11.15 km, with a two-way six-lane highway on the upper level and a double-track railway on the lower level.

The project will mean that the travel time between Pingtan and Fuzhou will be reduced to only 30 minutes by train and one hour by car.