The Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway  will open at the end of 2012, slashing the travel time from 20 hours to eight for the 2,294-kilometer journey, the Ministry of Railways said.

Xie Xiaowen, media officer from the Ministry of Railways, said that the construction of the high-speed line from Beijing to Zhengzhou, Henan Province, is finished.

"The railway is waiting for checks and test operations before going into official operation, expected to be at the end of December," said Xie.

Sun Zhang, an expert in rail transportation at Tongji University in Shanghai, said trains will run at a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour.  

"The price will be set according to the distance. However, the State Council on November 9 stipulated that the insurance fee, accounting for 2 percent of the ticket price, will be abolished next year, so it won't be included in tickets now," said Sun.

Although prices have not yet been released, based on the price of high-speed train tickets from Wuhan to Guangzhou, a journey of 1,069 kilometers which costs 465 yuan ($74.6) for a second-class ticket and 740 for first class, estimates of prices are 938 yuan for a second-class ticket from Beijing to Guangzhou, while a first- class ticket will be 1,493 yuan.

As at those prices, the price of a plane ticket for the three-hour flight could still be cheaper, it may mean that the route is not competitive at first.

"If passengers are unwilling to take the high-speed trains because of money, the Ministry of Railways will adjust their price according to the market response," noted Sun.

The sections from Wuhan, Hebei Province, to Guangzhou and Guangzhou to Shenzhen opened in 2009 and 2011 and the Zhengzhou to Wuhan section started operating in September.

It is expected to take around four hours to travel from Beijing to Wuhan, less than half the current quickest journey time of nearly 10 hours.