Test of cross-sea rail ferry project launched
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-18 09:35 A joint test of ferry, port
and bridge began yesterday at the Bohai cross-sea railway ferry project.
The project will connect Yantai City, eastern China's Shandong Province, and
Dalian City, northeastern Liaoning Province. The test comes in advance of the
project's trial operation in September.
The project is China's longest cross-sea railway ferry route.
The ferry will link up a railway passage in eastern China from Harbin City,
capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, to Shanghai.
Besides creating a new railway link, the ferry project is also expected to
improve exchange between northeastern China, the Bohai Sea circle and the
Yangtze River Delta - China's three major economic areas.
The three regions contribute approximately a third of China's gross domestic
products.
Once the project launches, trains will be ferried between Yantai to Dalian,
to avoid a long detour, cutting transport time and cost.
The shortest direct distance between Shandong Peninsula, where Yantai is
located, and Liaodong Peninsula, where Dalian is located, is 159.8 kilometers.
The sea used to disrupt the railway link, forcing trains to make a long
detour. The ferry project will reduce train travel distances by 600 to 1,600
kilometers compared to running on the current railway network.
In its initial stage, the Yantai-Dalian ferry service will be able to
transport 3.8 million tons of railway cargo a year from Dalian to Yantai, and
the reverse line will have an annual capacity of 3 million tons.
In addition to trains, the ferries will also carry autos and passengers.
|
