A new high-speed rail service linking Hong Kong with Wuhan, capital city of central China's Hubei Province, officially launched on Sunday.
The inaugural train, G885, departed from Wuhan Station at around 16:00, embarking on a four-hour and 33-minute journey that would take it through stations in Hunan and Guangdong provinces before reaching Hong Kong's West Kowloon Terminal.
Passenger Wei Junyi expressed excitement about the new route.
"I'm here to experience our first train. I think it's very convenient and very quick to go directly to Hong Kong," she said.
With nearly 1,200 seats per train, the new high-speed rail link is poised to facilitate the flow of people and economic activities between the central region and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Hong Kong entered the high-speed rail era in 2018, when the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link opened.
China aims to expand the length of its operational high-speed rail tracks to about 60,000 kilometers by 2030, up from 48,000 kilometers at the end of 2024, data from the country's railway operator shows.
New high-speed rail linking Hong Kong with Wuhan begins service
Russia reported on Saturday that its forces attacked several Ukrainian military targets over the past day, while Ukraine on the same day claimed it hit Russian oil facilities.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in its latest report that over the past 24 hours, the Russian forces conducted strikes on Ukrainian energy and transport infrastructure, drone storage sites and fuel depots, temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries in 145 locations. The ministry said Russian air defense forces shot down 568 drones over the past day.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the same day that a total of 151 combat engagements were reported on the battlefield over the past day. It said the Ukrainian forces launched attacks on multiple Russian troops and an equipment concentration area and drone control points, and shot down 2,104 operational-tactical level Russian drones. The Ukrainian forces also hit four key Russian oil facilities on Saturday, said the report.
Ukraine's Security Service (SSU) said in a social media post on Saturday that it had hit three Russian warships in Crimea. The SSU said that the hit warships included the Russian Navy's large landing ships Yamal and Azov,and a third warship of an unspecified type. Other reports said that a Russian Project 21980 anti-sabotage boat "may have been hit."
According to the SSU, Ukraine also launched drones to attack Russia's communication systems, a radar station, and an oil base in Crimea.
Russia has not responded to these reports.
Russia claims striking multiple Ukrainian targets; Ukraine reports hitting Russian oil facilities
