A driver operates a high-speed train at the high-speed railway maintenance base in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, Dec. 26, 2009. [Xinhua/Cheng Min]

SMALLER GAPS

The high-speed trains do not only shorten the distances between cities, but also change the speed of China's economic growth, said Wang Xiaoguang, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.

China, a nation with vast geography and worried about the wide income gap between its highly developed coastal areas and the lagging interior, is looking to railways to help spread the wealth, he said.

China has launched the strategy of developing the west and invigorating the central region for about 10 years, thus reducing social and economic imbalances.

But the initiative has been hampered by slow and expensive transport of passengers and cargo. However, "things will change in the future as fast-train lines may help reduce these problems," Wang said.

A high-speed rail line linking Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province and Xi'an, the ancient capital in the northwest, will be opened soon.

"This will encourage more coastal industries to invest in the northwest where resource and labor costs are lower," Wang said.

Experts also said the upgrade to a high-speed network will allow the old lines to be used for cargo, thus helping the inland to transport its resources and products efficiently to the eastern ports.

"In the traffic peak periods such as the Spring Festival when the Chinese go home for family get-together, the railway bureaus have to suspend freight transportation to guarantee smooth passenger flow."

"The bottleneck is expected to be eliminated. As high-speed passenger trains are easing the traffic pressure, the railways will focus more on cargo transportation," he said.