Around 149,000 bullet train trips made to stations in Xiong'an

Around 149,000 journeys have been made to the two high speed rail stations in Xiong'an New Area since they opened in July last year. Journeys to the two stations account for around one-third of the nearly half a million trips on the high speed rail link between Beijing and Baoding.

A bullet train passes through Xiong'an New Area on its way from Beijing and Baoding. [File Photo: China Plus]

Today is the first anniversary of the foundation of Xiong'an New Area, an economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The project is part of a government push for better integration in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It is one of the largest national-level economic development areas, which include Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai Pudong New Area. It will be a home for government agencies, education providers, financial services, and large private companies.

Construction of a new high speed rail link between Beijing and Xiong'an began in February. The 33.5 billion yuan (5.3 billion U.S. dollars) project is expected to shorten intercity travel time to about half an hour, cutting around one hour off the current travel time.