(Yicai Global) Sept. 27 -- Construction of the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed railroad that will run east to west along the Yangtze River and cost CNY530 billion (USD82.1 billion) has officially begun.

A work meeting for the Wuhan-Yichang section of the 2,100-kilometer high-speed link held in Hubei province on Sept. 25 marked the official start.

Trains will run at 350 kilometers an hour between Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, and the eastern coastal city of Shanghai, where the Yangtze River reaches the East China Sea. The link will cut traveling time between the two cities to six hours from 16 hours, closely connecting the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle in the upper reaches of the river with the city clusters along the middle reaches, and the Yangtze River Delta Economic Region.

The railroad will pass through six provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which accounts for over 40 percent of China’s population and total gross domestic product. Major stops on the line will be Chengdu, Chongqing, Yichang, Wuhan, Hefei, Nanjing, and Shanghai.

Dozens of cities along the route will flourish, driving the development of small and mid-sized cities and towns and promoting the coordinated development of the three major metropolitan areas and of the entire Yangtze River Economic Belt, Ye Qing, a professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, told Yicai Global.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione