Tunnel construction completes on high-speed railway to China-Vietnam border

NANNING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- With the last tunnel drilled through on Tuesday, the construction of a railway that will allow Chinese high-speed trains to reach the China-Vietnam border has made a significant step forward.

The 46.9-km railway will link the cities of Fangchenggang and Dongxing, both in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It has a total of eight tunnels.

Currently, more than 79 percent of construction work has been completed on the railway. Track-laying and communication projects will be arranged later.

After the railway is put into operation, the history of no railway traffic between Fangchenggang and Dongxing will end. Trains on the line can run at a design speed of 200 km per hour, and the travel time between the two cities will be shortened from 90 to 20 minutes.

Dongxing is located at the China-Vietnam border. The line will eventually boost trade and exchanges between China and Southeast Asian countries.