京沪高铁正式开始运营

万众瞩目的京沪高铁于今天开始运营.首列列车已经从北京出发,前往上海.中国两大城市之间相距1318公里,最短行车时间不到5小时,大大缩短两大市之间的旅行时间.

At a launching ceremony held right before the departure of the first train, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao praised the high-speed railway.
 
"The building of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is of great significance to improving a modern traffic network, promoting economic and social development and satisfying people's need to travel. The railway workers spent only 38 months to complete this whole project, and it has recorded a new chapter in China's rail construction history."

Wang Qianzhong is a freshman at Beijing-based Renmin University. He has bought a ticket for the maiden voyage back to his hometown Nanjing for his summer holiday.

Nanjing is one of the 24 stops along the route.
 
Wang says he's looking forward to enjoying this new service.
 
"As I can have electricity and Internet access on this high-speed rail, I will play with the computer, and several hours will pass very quickly. This is something I can't do on planes."

China's Ministry of Railway says there will be 90 pairs of trains running at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour or 250 kilometers per hour every day.

With such a high number and frequency of trains running along the line at uNPRecedented speeds, questions about the safety of the new rail line have cropped up in the past months.

But the passengers do not seem concerned at all about the issue.

Hugo Ortiz is a businessman from the United States. Although he failed to obtain a ticket for the very first train, he is excited to ride on the first day of operation.
 
When it comes to the safety of the high-speed trains, Ortiz says he feels quite confident.

Tickets for the journey between the two cities range from 410 yuan to 1,750 yuan, or 63 to 270 U.S. dollars, depending on the train's designated speed and seat category.

For CRI, I'm Zhao Yang.