A bullet train runs on the Chongqing-Guiyang line for trial operation on the Yelang River Bridge in Tongzi County of Zunyi City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Jan. 11, 2018. A railway connecting Chongqing and Guiyang, two major cities in southwest China, started operation Thursday. Designed for trains running at a speed of 200 km per hour, the 347-km rail line will cut travel time between Chongqing and Guiyang from the current 10 hours to 2 hours, and shorten travel time between Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, and Guiyang from current 11 hours to 3.5 hours. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)

CHONGQING/GUIYANG, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- A railway connecting Chongqing and Guiyang, two major cities in southwest China, started operation Thursday.

A bullet train carrying 552 passengers left Chongqing Municipality for Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, at 8:50 a.m., according to the Chengdu railway bureau.

Forty-six pairs of bullet trains will run on the 347-km rail line, designed for trains running at a speed of 200 km per hour.

The line cuts travel time between Chongqing and Guiyang from the current 10 hours to 2 hours.

Passenger Li Xiaoqiang said he loved the natural scenery in Guizhou.

"We want to spend summer there as the travel time has been shortened," Li said.

Li Jie, who frequently makes business trips to Guizhou, said he boarded the train Thursday just to experience its maiden run.

A total of 209 bridges, 115 two-way tunnels and 12 stations were built for the new railway, which will improve traffic between China's southwest, a major source of migrant workers, and booming southern areas.

The line is part of a sea-rail route between China's landlocked west and Southeast Asia.