The Hangzhou-Changsha (Hang-Chang) section of the Shanghai-Kunming (Hu-Kun) high speed rail officially started operations on Dec 10. The Changsha-Huaihua (Chang-Huai) section of the Hu-Kun high speed rail will be opened to traffic later this month.

By then, “it will be no more a dream” for Changsha residents to “l(fā)eave for a trip without hesitation”, said Changsha Evening News, as it will be really convenient either to go eastward or westward from Changsha.

During a trial operation of the Chang-Huai section on Dec 9, the G6521 train departed Changsha South Railway Station at 8:40 am, arrived at Xiangtan North Station at 8:54 am, Loudi South Station 9:22 am, and Huaihua South station 10:28 am.

“It really surprises me that it takes only 14 minutes from Changsha to Xiangtan by high speed rail. A bus trip from Xiangtan to Changsha took me more than one hour,” said an overseas student from Cote d'Ivoire in Xiangtan University, who was among the first batch of passengers to experience the new rail line.

According to an insider in the railway department, the current speed in the trial run didn’t reach its optimum, and it may go faster in formal operations.

At present, Changsha has 13 regular trains to Huaihua, the fastest of which, the Z77, leaves Changsha at 6:05 am and arrives at Huaihua at 11:52 am, being more than four hours slower than the high speed train.

There are 10 stations along the Chang-Huai part of the high speed rail, which has a length of 416 kilometers. When the rail line officially opens in mid-to-late December, the total length of the high speed rail in Hunan province will exceed 1,000 km, covering 10 out of the total 14 prefecture-level cities or autonomous districts – much higher than the national average level.