The high-speed railway linking Zhengzhou in Henan province and Xi'an in Shaanxi starts operation Saturday, with its first train leaving from Zhengzhou at 11:25am, Zhengzhou Evening News reported.

The Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed train starts operation on Feb. 6, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is the first high-speed passenger railway in western China, Xinhua reported.

The train, with a speed of up to 352 km/h, finishes the 505km distance in one hour and 48 minutes instead of six hours, according to China Railway First Survey and Design Institute.

The line, part of a major east-west railway artery between Xuzhou in Jiangsu province and Lanzhou in Gansu, cost about 35.3 billion yuan ($5.2 billion).

The Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed train runs on Feb. 6, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]