BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Workers on Friday finished building the main structure of the Xiongan high-speed railway station, which marks the first major transport project of the Xiongan New Area, 100 km southwest of Beijing.

Scheduled for operation by the end of this year, the Beijing-Xiongan high-speed railway will shorten the intercity travel time to 30 minutes.

China announced plans to establish the Xiongan New Area on April 1, 2017, to take over Beijing's functions nonessential to its role as the national capital. Xiongan's city proper will be a new home for Beijing's colleges, hospitals, business headquarters and financial and public institutions.

To cope with future travel demands, Xiongan High-speed Railway Station has been designed with a construction area of 475,000 square meters, equivalent to 66 football fields. It has 13 platforms for 23 railway lines.

Jia Wei, a project engineer of the China Railway No. 12 Engineering Group, undertaker of the station building, said the platforms are covered with steel-structured roofs in the shape of arched box girders.

The station will adopt an intelligent check-in system to allow travelers to make self-service check-in.

Railways are under construction to connect Xiongan with cities including Tianjin and Shijiazhuang to facilitate travel.