China has launched its sixth national speed acceleration plan for the country's railway system, reports Xinhua.

The speed acceleration plan is also expected to increase the annual flow of cargo by 15,000 tons from western to eastern China.

The speed on a total of 6,000 kilometres of railway will be raised to above 200 kph. Within this total, trains will be permitted to operate at 250 kph on nearly 850 kilometres of railway tracks.

The plan to raise locomotive speeds is intended to add 12 per cent capacity to cargo trains and 18 per cent capacity to passenger transportation, said China's Vice Minister of Railways, Hu Yadong.

According to the minister, the speed acceleration plan will be introduced to 18 railway lines, including the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Harbin, and Lianyungang-Lanzhou line. Travel time between Beijing and Shanghai will be shortened by two hours.

China has carried out five national rail speed enhancement strategies since 1997. Last year, the country's railway cargo and passenger volume grew to 2.87 billion tons and 1.25 billion passengers, respectively, up from 1.72 billion tons of freight and 0.93 billion passengers in 1997.