A high-speed train prepares to depart from Hangzhoudong Railway Station in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/IC]

East China's Zhejiang province resumed high-speed train operations at 350 kilometers per hour, following a nationwide railway schedule update that took effect on July 1.

The Hangzhou–Changsha section of the Shanghai–Kunming high-speed railway is now running at its full design speed of 350 km/h, marking the return of 350 km/h service to Zhejiang for the first time since 2011, when nationwide speed reductions were implemented. This is also the first time that Hangzhoudong Railway Station has hosted trains operating at this speed.

Travel time from Hangzhou to Nanchang, Jiangxi province, has been cut to 1 hour and 58 minutes, while the trip to Changsha, Hunan province, now takes just 3 hours and 12 minutes.

China's high-speed trains were scaled back in 2011, when the maximum operating speed on many lines — including those designed for 350 km/h — was reduced for safety and cost reasons. Since then, only select lines have gradually resumed 350 km/h operations.

Although many of Zhejiang's high-speed lines were designed for 350 km/h service, most had previously operated below that benchmark. The latest adjustment increases both speed and capacity, enabling more limited-stop trains and shortening travel times between popular destinations.

The upgrade is expected to ease ticket demand pressure on peak summer routes, particularly those connecting Zhejiang to Southwest China — including Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces — long favored by seasonal travelers.