The Huzhou-Hangzhou section of the Hefei-Hangzhou High-speed Railway enters trial operation stage on July 6. [Photo/hz66.com]

A G55301 bullet train departed from Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province for the provincial capital of Hangzhou at 8:00 am on July 6.

The journey marked the beginning of the trial operation of the Huzhou-Hangzhou section of the Hefei-Hangzhou High-speed Railway. The trial is expected to last no less than a month before the official opening of the line in August. 

The railway line broke ground at the end of 2019 and entered the testing stage in late April 2022.

As of July 5, 2,023 test trains had been operated on the 137.8-km rail line, traveling 57,226 kilometers in total. The maximum speed reached during the tests was 385 km/h.

The section has six stops in Huzhou, Deqing, Hangzhou, Fuyang and Tonglu. Deqing and Tonglu are two sub-venues of the recently postponed Asian Games.

The opening of the new line will boost connectivity between Games venues, accelerate Huzhou's integration into the Yangtze River Delta, as well as bolster the construction of the "one-hour" traffic circle pattern in Zhejiang, in which passengers from any city in the province can get to another within an hour.