The construction of the new Fuzhou-Pingtan railway started on Oct 27, marking the beginning of Pingtan's sea-land intermodal transport era, Pingtan's official website reported.

The Fuzhou-Pingtan railway, an extension of the Beijing-Fuzhou railway, connects Fuzhou, provincial capital of Fujian, and Pingtan, an island county in the province and the nation's first pilot zone opening up to Taiwan.

The railway is expected to implement sea-land intermodal transport in the West Straits Economic Zone, and Pingtan is set to play a more important role as a transit point between Taiwan and the west of the Taiwan Straits.

The new route will include a double-decker bridge over the sea - for the planned railway line and expressway – which will enable passengers to travel between Fuzhou and Pingtan within half an hour by high-speed trains and about an hour on the expressway.

The railway line will have a total of six stations - at Fuzhou, Fuzhou South, Changle, Changle East, Songxia, and Pingtan - and another railway line is also set to be built, connecting Changle and Changle Airport.

Pingtan has - up to now - relied on the Haixia Bridge and marine travel routes to reach locations outside the island, due to its unique geological conditions. As the Haixia Bridge has had to carry the burden of most of the traffic, the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone made the decision to focus on developing public transportation facilities for the benefit of the county's economy and trade and transactions. The new railway line is expected to ease the county's traffic woes.

"This is a major step for the pilot zone to take part in the economic development of the West Haixia Straits Economic Zone," the reporter quoted an insider from the pilot zone's railway office.

Edited by d Niva Whyman