BEIJING • China's new-generation high-speed bullet train - the Fuxing - was put into operation yesterday on two railway lines connecting major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei area.

The Fuxing high-speed trains will make 39 one-way trips between Beijing and Tianjin and six one-way trips between Beijing and Xingtai, Hebei, each day.

The trains will stop at 10 cities, including Beijing and Tianjin, and Hebei's Baoding, Xingtai and Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital.

The Fuxing is set to operate on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line from Sept 21, travelling at a speed of 350kmh, China Railway Corp said on Sunday.

It will be the world's fastest commercially-used bullet train and will cut travel time between the two cities from six hours to 4½ hours.

Fourteen Fuxing bullet trains will serve passengers on the 1,318km- long line.

China started to run its first 350kmh high-speed train between Beijing and Tianjin in August 2008 and opened at least three more such high-speed lines nationwide in the following years, until the authorities ordered speeds to be cut to between 250mkh and 300kmh in 2011.

The Fuxing trains were unveiled in June and are capable of top speeds of 400kmh. On July 27, the Fuxing trains were tested for safety and reliability at maximum speed.

From Sept 21, these trains will make seven round trips each day. The trains are entirely designed and manufactured in China, led by the China Railway Corporation.

China has the world's longest high-speed rail network of over 22,000 km, about 60 per cent of the world's total.

About one-third of China's high- speed railways were designed to allow trains to run at a speed of 350kmh, according to Mr He Huawu of the China Academy of Engineering.

XINHUA, CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK