Rendering of the 1,488-meter Xihoumen rail-road bridge along the Ningbo-Zhoushan railway. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsqdxq]

Construction on the Ningbo-Zhoushan railway began on Dec 22 in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province, signaling Zhoushan's entry into the era of high-speed railway, local media reported.

The Ningbo-Zhoushan railway will start at East Ningbo Station in Ningbo, pass by the city's Yinzhou district and Beilun district, Jintang Island, Cezi Island, and Fuchi Island, and end in Baiquan town in Zhoushan.

The 26.99 billion yuan ($4.03 billion) railway spans a distance of 76.4 kilometers, including 6.3 km of existing railway, and has seven stations, with trains operating at a maximum speed of 250 km per hour.

The Jintang submarine tunnel and Xihoumen rail-road bridge will be the biggest challenges to complete the railway.

The 16.18-km Jintang submarine tunnel, 2.4 times longer than the tunnel along the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, will be the longest submarine high-speed railway tunnel in the world, while the 1,488-meter Xihoumen rail-road bridge will be the longest in the world.

After the Ningbo-Zhoushan railway is put into operation, it will take just 30 minutes to travel between Ningbo and Zhoushan and roughly one hour between Hangzhou and Zhoushan.