The longest high-speed rail line in an area that experiences long and cold winters completed its track laying on Sept 6, laying a solid foundation for the operation of the line in June 2018.

The 343-kilometer Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line starts in Harbin, passes through Binxi, Fangzheng, Demoli, and Yilan, before finally arriving in Jiamusi, the eastern most city of China.

The entire line includes 14 stations. When put into service, the new line will shorten the current seven-hour journey duration to approximately one hour and 50 minutes, as it can accommodate trains traveling at speeds of up to 200 kilometers per hour.

The operations of the Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line will put an end to the 80 percent of the areas along the line that did not have access to train services.

The rail line will also be connected to Harbin-Dalian High-Speed Rail Line, joining in Heilongjiang province’s rail line network and serving as a bridge between China and Russia——boosting bilateral trade, and economic and cultural exchanges.

Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line started construction in 2014 from both terminals of the line. About 80 percent of the track laying work was completed in isoolated and remote places. They also introduced a manager to take charge of the project.

The rail line will begin network debugging work in March 2018, and is anticipated to officially commence operations in June, 2018.

 Construction workers stand in line to celebrate the completion of the track laying work of Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line on Sept 6. [Photo/cnr.cn]

Construction workers stand in line to celebrate the completion of the track laying work of Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line on Sept 6. [Photo/cnr.cn]

 A view of the Harbin-Jiamusi Rail Line on Sept 6. [Photo/cnr.cn]