The first electric passenger train departs from the Shanghai Railway Station yesterday. The train began service on the newly updated Beijing-Shanghai line. 

More passenger trains will be added to the electric line next month, the Shanghai Railway Administration said yesterday.

"The electric train did quite well after a week of trial runs on the Shanghai-Nanjing line from last Thursday," said Chen Wanjun, an administration official.

Yesterday's train departed at the Shanghai Railway Station for Wuxi, Jiangsu Province at noon, packed with passengers.

Twelve electric passenger trains will run on the renovated Beijing-Shanghai line next month.

The electric cargo trains have been operating since late last month.

The 1,464-kilometer line accounts for 2.2 percent of the total length of rail lines in China, but transports nearly 9 percent of the country's freight and 12.4 percent of passengers.

(Shanghai Daily July 28, 2006)