A joint test of ferry, port and bridge began yesterday at the Bohai cross-sea railway ferry project.
The project will connect
Yantai City, eastern China's Shandong Province, and
Dalian/">
Dalian City, northeastern Liaoning Province. The test comes in advance of the project's trial operation in September.
The project is China's longest cross-sea railway ferry route.
The ferry will link up a railway passage in eastern China from
Harbin City, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang Province, to
Shanghai.
Besides creating a new railway link, the ferry project is also expected to improve exchange between northeastern China, the Bohai Sea circle and the Yangtze River Delta - China's three major economic areas.
The three regions contribute approximately a third of China's gross domestic products.
Once the project launches, trains will be ferried between
Yantai to
Dalian/">
Dalian, to avoid a long detour, cutting transport time and cost.
The shortest direct distance between Shandong Peninsula, where
Yantai is located, and Liaodong Peninsula, where
Dalian/">
Dalian is located, is 159.8 kilometers.
The sea used to disrupt the railway link, forcing trains to make a long detour. The ferry project will reduce train travel distances by 600 to 1,600 kilometers compared to running on the current railway network.
In its initial stage, the
Yantai-
Dalian/">
Dalian ferry service will be able to transport 3.8 million tons of railway cargo a year from
Dalian/">
Dalian to
Yantai, and the reverse line will have an annual capacity of 3 million tons.
In addition to trains, the ferries will also carry autos and passengers.
