The Pingtan Cross-Straits Road-Rail Bridge, the first cross-sea rail and road bridge on the Fuzhou-Pingtan railway, is 16.34 kilometers long. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first train from the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone to Fuzhou, capital of East China's Fujian province, started operating at 9:43 on Dec 26, and the Fuzhou-Pingtan railway officially opened to the public simultaneously.

The Fuzhou-Pingtan railway starts from Songxia Port in neighboring Changle county and travels to Su'ao town in Pingtan, the closest place to Taiwan on the Chinese mainland. It is 88 kilometers in length.

The long-awaited Fuzhou-Pingtan railway has six freight stations, and its Pingtan Cross-Straits Road-Rail Bridge, which is China's first cross-sea rail-road bridge, is 16.34 km long. It has a six-lane expressway for vehicles traveling 100 km per hour and a high-speed railway designed to support bullet trains traveling as fast as 200 km per hour. 

According to local railway authorities, 9.5 pairs of bullet trains will operate per day, and the number will reach 17 after China's train operation diagram is adjusted on Jan 20.

"The Fuzhou-Pingtan railway will help restore the tourism sector in Pingtan," according to Wu Yunping, an official of the zone's tourism, culture, and sports bureau.

The railway has also improved railway links connecting regions in northeast Fujian province, and is supporting the high-quality development of Pingtan and Fuzhou's Binhai New City.