OREANDA-NEWS.   Four intercity railway projects in East China's Anhui province passed an authoritative evaluation on Saturday, the Anhui Daily reported.

A panel of experts from China International Engineering Consulting Co.suggested that projects of intercity railways connecting Hefei, Xinqiao International Airport and Lu'an, Hefei, Anqing and Jiujiang, Hefei, Chuzhou and Nanjing, plus Chizhou and Jiujiang should be kicked off in the near future.

The four railways, part of the Anhui-section Yangtze River (Wanjiang) intercity railway network, will exceed 510 kilometers and cost 68 billion yuan (USD 11 billion), the newspaper said.

The Wanjiang intercity railway network is designed to consist of 14 intercity railways and five rail links both for passengers and for freight. It will benefit 11 prefecture-level cities including Hefei, capital of the province.

Construction on seven of them is slated to start by 2020 and six more will be built within 2030, the newspaper reported, citing the project planning.

Commissioned by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the expert panel proposed the intercity railway network allow passengers a one-hour trip between major cities or between a central city and its neighboring minor cities.