Southwest train runs on track

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 ◆ Southwest train runs on track

Three provinces in Southwest China got new links recently when trains started running on the Neijiang-Kunming railway.

The 872 kilometres of track run through Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. The express route links Southwest China with countries in Southeast Asia.

In a written message, Premier Zhu Rongji said that the establishment of the railway would promote local economic development and help ease the strain on main rail lines.

The northern and southern sections of the line were finished in the 1960s. The construction of the middle section started in 1998.

Zhu said it was not an easy task to complete the project within four years under difficult natural conditions.

The new line has 358 kilometres of track in total. Of them, 41.8 kilometres go over bridges and 148.86 kilometres go through tunnels - accounting for 53.9 per cent of the entire line.