On 26 October China opened a new high speed rail line linking the economic capital of Shanghai with the major conurbation of Hangzhou in the east.

This new 202 km rail link will enable trains to be operated at speeds of up to 350 km/hr, cutting travel time between the two cities from 90 to just 45 minutes. China is pursuing an ambitious development programme to extend its current 86 000 km rail network to 120 000 km by 2020, 50 000 km of which will be high speed rail.