The Jinan-Qingdao high-speed railway began test runs in Shandong province on Thursday. If no complications arise, the rail line is expected to go into service at the end of this year, the railway authority said Thursday.

The 307.9-km railway is designed with an operation speed of 350 km per hour.

It will cut travel time between Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, and Qingdao, a coastal city of Shandong, to one hour from the current 2.5 hours.

Travel time between Beijing and Qingdao will also be shortened to 2.5 hours from the current 5.5 hours.