New Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway soars

A newly opened high-speed railway linking Beijing and neighboring Zhangjiakou city in North China's Hebei province has been very popular in the past few weeks since it started operation at the end of last year, a mark of winter sports booming in the winter season.

The railway opened on Dec 30 and has carried more than 780,000 passengers on round trips from Beijing to Zhangjiakou until Jan 13, according to China Railway Beijing Group Co Ltd, the line's operator.

Its popularity shows there's a fast-rising skiing market in Zhangjiakou, which is the co-host city of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games with Beijing, it said.

High-speed trains running on the line have cut travel time between the capital and Zhangjiakou to about one hour, compared to over three hours in the past.

According to statistics issued by Zhangjiakou's Chongli district, the number of skiing tourists in Chongli registered a year-on-year increase of 19 percent to reach 112,778 as of Jan 12, Xinhua News Agency reported.

To meed demand, eight more pairs of trains were added in the past few days, which used to have 36 pairs of high-speed trains running each day.

The trains can take passengers not only to Zhangjiakou city, but also to Chongli district in the city, and in other regions of North China, including Datong city in Shanxi province and to Hohhot in Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

High-speed rail lines linking Zhangjiakou with  Chongli district, Datong city and Hohhot were opened on the same day.