A 45-km light rail line, the longest of its kind in China, was put into trial operation in the northern port city of Tianjin on Sunday.

Eight trains each with four cars will travel through the 19 stations along the whole line during the trial operation and 29 trains will be employed during formal operation, with a maximum speed of 100 km per hour.

Construction of the line between downtown Tianjin and the Binhai New District began in May 2001 and was completed in September 2003, at a cost of 6.5 billion yuan (US$783 million).

Binhai is the only region in China to serve simultaneously as a port, development zone, bonded zone, industrial center and marine high-tech development center.

(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2004)