A high-speed rail line connecting Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, and the region’s Hami prefecture will begin operation on Nov. 16, China Railway Corporation (CRC) announced on Nov 5.

Bullet trains will run at a speed of about 200 kilometers per hour at the early stage of the operation. Travel time between Urumqi and Hami will be reduced from the current five hours to around three hours.

China started to build the 530-kilometer rail link in January, 2010. It is part of the 1,776-kilometer Lanzhou-Xinjiang high-speed railway that stretches across northwest China’s Gansu province, Qinghai province and Xinjiang.

The rest of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway will be in operation by the end of 2014.

“The high-speed railway will further improve travel conditions for all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. It will also facilitate the economic and social development in the autonomous region,” the CRC said in a statement.