China approves first private high-speed railway project

China's first high-speed railway project undertaken by a private company on an intra-provincial route connecting two cities of the country's eastern Zhejiang Province has been approved, an economic planner said today.

The railway, 226.56-kilometre-long and designed for a maximum speed of 350 kmh is an intra-provincial route connecting the two cities of Shaoxing and Taizhou.

The project is jointly invested by private capital led by Fosun Group, state-owned China Railway, and Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co. Ltd, as well as the local government, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

China currently has the world's longest high-speed rail network, with 22,000 kms within the country, linking various top cities.