A key high-speed railway link in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality officially entered operation on Friday, marking a significant step toward establishing a vital transportation artery connecting the country's inland region with its southeastern coast.

A high-speed train departed from the Chongqing East Railway Station bound for the Qianjiang Railway Station on Friday morning, inaugurating the 242-kilometer section of the Chongqing-Xiamen high-speed railway. Construction on this segment began in May 2020, and it features a maximum speed of 350 kilometers per hour and a daily operation capacity of up to 54 trains.

The Chongqing-Xiamen railway is a major trunk line intended to connect Southwest China with the country's southeastern coastal regions.

While the full route remains under construction, Friday's opening has completed a critical link between Chongqing and Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province.

Analysts say this latest progress significantly shortens travel time and strengthens ties between two of China's major regional city clusters.

The just-completed Chongqing to Changsha link, combined with the already operational Ganzhou to Xiamen section and the under-construction Changsha to Ganzhou section, will form the Chongqing-Xiamen high-speed rail corridor, said Liu Te, a staff member responsible for infrastructure construction in China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

Xiamen is an eastern coastal city in Fujian province, and the city of Ganzhou is in East China's Jiangxi province.