(pictured here in Feb. 2007) allows faster passenger train traffic to be separated from slower freight traffic. It is one of the earliest examples of a passenger dedicated line. In 1993,
commercial train service in China averaged only and was steadily losing market share to
airline and highway travel on the country's expanding network of
expressways. The MOR focused modernization efforts on increasing the service speed and capacity on existing lines through
double-tracking,
electrification, improvements in
grade (through
tunnels and bridges), reductions in turn curvature, and installation of
continuous welded rail. Through five rounds of "speed-up" campaigns in April 1997, October 1998, October 2000, November 2001, and April 2004, passenger service on of existing tracks was upgraded to reach sub-high speeds of . A notable example is the
Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway, which in December 1994 became the first line in China to offer sub-high speed service of using domestically produced DF-class diesel locomotives. The line was electrified in 1998, and Swedish-made
X 2000 trains increased service speed to . After the completion of a third track in 2000 and a fourth in 2007, the line became the first in China to run high-speed passenger and freight service on separate tracks. The completion of the sixth and final round of the "speed up" campaigns in April 2007 brought HSR service to more existing lines: capable of train service and capable of . Some of tracks could accommodate trains traveling at speeds up to . In all, travel speed was increased on 22,000 extended km (13,700 extended mi), or one-fifth, of the national rail network, and the average speed of a passenger train improved to . The introduction of more non-stop service between large cities also helped to reduce travel time. The non-stop express train from
Beijing to
Fuzhou shortened travel time from 33.5 to less than 20 hours. In addition to track and scheduling improvements, the deployment of the
CRH series trains raised travel speed. During the sixth railway speedup campaign, 52 CRH trainsets (
CRH1,
CRH2 and
CRH5) were put into operation, service as 280 train numbers. By the end of 2007, there were planned to have 158 CRH trainsets, 514 train numbers in operation. The new trains sliced 2 hours off of the trip between
Beijing and
Shanghai to a journey of just under 10 hours. Travel times from Shanghai to
Changsha () fell by 1.5 hour to 7.5 hours and the trip to
Nanchang was halved. ==Summary==