Fast track underground

Construction progresses on a tunnel for the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway. The 2,812-meter Xikema No. 1 Tunnel in Ji'nan City in east China's Shandong Province will be the line's longest. Major construction in the tunnel is expected to be completed by the end of the month. The railway is set to open by the end of 2011, with a top speed of 350 kilometers per hour, cutting travel time between Shanghai and Beijing from 10 hours to four.