China to build first underwater bullet train route

PanARMENIAN.Net - There's no slowing China's high-speed rail ambitions. Beijing has just green lighted a project to build the first underwater bullet train route in the country, CNN reveals.

The line will connect Ningbo, a port city south of Shanghai, to Zhoushan, an archipelago off the east coast.

The proposed underwater tunnel will be a part of the 77-kilometer Yong-Zhou Railway plan (Yong is the nickname of Ningbo) to boost tourism and create a two-hour-commute zone within Zhejiang Province.

First mentioned in a government transportation plan in 2005, the feasibility study of the Yong-Zhou Railway plan was approved by Beijing in November.

Within the 77 km (47.8 miles) railway route, some 70.92 km of tracks will be newly built, including a 16.2 km undersea section.

The new route, connecting to the existing vast high-speed rail network in China, will transport travelers from Hangzhou -- capital city of Zhejiang -- to Zhoushan in 80 minutes.

The current journey takes about 4.5 hours by bus or a 2.5-hour drive by personal vehicle.