A new high-speed railway linking Yiwu in Zhejiang province with cities in northern Jiangsu province started operating on Dec 11, local media reported.

The 304.5-kilometer railway connects Lianyungang, Huai'an, and Yangzhou with the high-speed railway network in southern Jiangsu, forming a major vertical corridor across the province.

It has a designed speed of 250km per hour and cuts travel time between Yiwu and northern Jiangsu from nearly 14 hours to just over five hours.

Along with the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Railway, which offers a 3.5-hour journey from Yiwu to Nantong in central Jiangsu, the new route will help Yiwu better integrate into the Yangtze River Delta region and form closer ties with cities in the Jiaodong Peninsula in Shandong province.

According to initial operating plans, starting Dec 11, train G7390 will depart from the Yiwu Railway Station at 12:56 and arrive in Lianyungang at 18:05 before stopping in Yangzhou, Gaoyou, Baoying, Huai'an, and Lianshui.

Ticket prices for second-class seats to Yangzhou and Lianyungang are 259 yuan ($37.53) and 370 yuan, respectively.