(Yicai) Jan. 11 -- Construction of another two sections of the CNY530 billion (USD 74 billion) Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railroad has begun, bringing the major east-west rail corridor that will boost development in China’s inland areas a step closer to completion

The Hefei-Wuhan section, connecting eastern Anhui province with central Hubei province, kicked off earlier this month. And the Yichang to Fuling section, which links another city in Hubei province to a district of the municipality of Chongqing in southwest China, started last month.

Stretching 2,100 kilometers, the project is composed of seven sections. Three other sections are currently being built and there are two other sections that have yet to be started.

Once complete, trains will run at 350 kilometers an hour between Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province and the eastern coastal city of Shanghai. It will connect the Yangtze River Delta economic hub with cities along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as well as the metropolises of Chengdu and Chongqing in the west of the country.

The Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railroad will not only shorten travel times, halving the journey between Shanghai and Chongqing to 5 hours and 48 minutes from 10 hours and 42 minutes, but will also boost industrial collaborations amongst regions along the Yangtze River and lure mature industries near the coast to move inland, said Ye Qing, professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

It will link dozens of cities along the route and boost the development of the small and medium-sized towns through which it passes, spurring the integrated growth of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, said Ye, who is also an academic at public policy think tank Pangoal. Cities along the route will flourish, driving investment into these areas and encouraging the shift of industries from coastal regions, Ye added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor