China's national rail network has unveiled its most expansive service plan in ten years, adding more trains and new routes.

More than six hundred additional train services have gone into operation on Sunday, about a third of which are high-speed. A new line now connects Urumqi in the northwest of the country, with Qiqihaer all the way in the northeast. It travels more than 4,800 kilometers, being the longest rail route in the country.

There's also a new line that cuts from the south to north in the east of the country. Running from Fuzhou to Harbin, the route winds through multiple provinces, and takes two days from start to end. On the existing Beijing-Shanghai route, twenty extra trains will be running to cover morning and evening peak travel between the two metropolises.

In addition, around 100 new inter-city trains are added to ease commute between big cities and neighbouring towns. And 69 new short routes are opened from major cities to nearby tourism sites, aimed at facilitating more day-trips. More than 2.5 billion trips were made last year across the country's rail network.

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