The world's longest high-speed rail line, which stretches halfway across the country, began operating Wednesday.

Two trains departed from stations in Beijing and the Southern economic hub of Guangzhou at 9 am and 10 am respectively, to mark the opening of the 2,298-kilometer line.

Trains will travel at an average speed of 300 kilometers per hour over the line. The new route cuts the travel time between Beijing and the southern metropolis from over 20 hours to about eight.

A second-class seat on the new high-speed line costs 865 yuan (138 US dollars), while a sleeper ticket on the old line sells for around 430 yuan.

Earlier reports indicated that some trains between Beijing and Guangzhou would cease operation after the launch of the new line, prompting concerns it would increase the overall travel costs for passengers. But Xinhua said there will still be 183 pairs of trains running daily on the old Beijing-Guangzhou line that runs parallel to the high-speed line.

The opening of the new line also prompted airlines to cut the prices of short-distance air tickets covering a similar route. Air tickets between Beijing and Wuhan have seen a price cut of over 80 percent, and those between Guangzhou and Zhengzhou saw a 70 percent discount.

With the opening of the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed line, China now has more than 9,300 kilometers of high-speed railway in operation. AFP said that the network is "a symbol of China's emergence as the world's second-largest economy."

Despite the country's ambitious plans to develop the network, it has been plagued by debt and safety issues, including a collision in July 2011 that killed 40 people.