Perdana, China Launches Cross-Sea Bullet Train Near Taiwan Strait

Illustration of the Chinese bullet train. (Source: Khalidshou at en.wikipedia)

JAKARTA - China for the first time launched a high-speed rail service that crosses several bays and along the southeast coast of Fujian Province, near the Taiwan Strait, state media said Thursday.

A bullet train departed from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province in eastern China on Thursday morning, signaling the opening of the 277 km (172 miles) Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou railway line, Xinhua reported.

This is China's first sea crossing fast track with a bullet train crossing the bridge across three coastal bays, reaching a top speed of 350 km per hour (218 mph), state media said, citing China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

With the train, the travel time between Fuzhou, the economic center, and Xiamen's popular tourist destination takes less than an hour.

China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co Ltd designed this train project. In 2022, China has 42.000 km of high-speed rail lines operating. Of that number, the length of the track that can operate at speeds of up to 350 km per hour is close to 3.200 km in June 2022.

Beijing itself recently announced details of its plans to turn Fujian into an integrated development zone with Taiwan, which is located opposite the province.

China hopes that this relationship will increase investment opportunities and facilitate travel.

A Chinese government official said an integrated multidimensional transportation network had been built in Fujian that "will technically allow it to build high-speed transportation routes connecting the province with Taiwan," according to state media.

Taiwan has previously rejected China's plan to connect the island with a network of trains, which to make it happen requires the world's longest underwater tunnel construction across the Taiwan Strait.

When asked about the comments, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which made a policy on China, said such an infrastructure project could not be "defined unilaterally", adding Belt and Road investment abroad in China needed to be discussed with the host country.

It is known, China decided on a formal discussion mechanism with the Taiwan Government in 2016.

Separately, earlier this week China launched its first commercial monorail path in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province.

The monorel, which covers a distance of 10.5 km (6.5 miles), is fully automated and only requires human operation in an emergency.