China plans first undersea tunnel for high-speed trains

Members of a security-checking team patrol along the tracks near the Namity Bridge on Dianyue (Yunnan-Vietnam) Railway, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 9, 2012. China will build its first undersea tunnel for high-speed trains, connecting two cities in eastern province of Zhejiang, according to local authorities. The train project, connecting the city of Ningbo with the island city of Zhoushan in east Zhejiang, is 70.92 km in total length, with an undersea tunnel section of 16.2 km, according to the construction plan. Trains are designed to run at 250 km per hour, cutting the trip between the two cities from 1.5 hours to less than 30 minutes. China's high-speed rail has reached 25,000 kilometers in length, accounting for more than 60 percent of the world's total. Zhejiang was among the earliest provinces in the country to build high-speed rail. (Xinhua/Qin Qing)