Beijing: Chinese government has approved a project to build the first underwater bullet train route in the country, said on Thursday. Beijing has just green lighted a project to build the first underwater bullet train route in China.

First mentioned in a government transportation plan in 2005, the feasibility study of the Yong-Zhou Railway plan was approved by Beijing in November.

Within the 77 km (47.8 miles) railway route, some 70.92 km of tracks will be newly built, including a 16.2 km undersea section.

The line will connect Ningbo, a port city south of Shanghai, to Zhoushan, an archipelago off the east coast. The proposed underwater tunnel will be a part of the 77-kilometer Yong-Zhou Railway plan to boost tourism and create a two-hour-commute zone within Zhejiang Province. 

The new route will cover the distance of 80 minutes from Hangzhou capital city to Zhejiang to Zhoushan

The current journey takes about 4.5 hours by bus and 2.5 hours by personal vehicle. Seven stations are planned to cover the entire route, including four new station and three redeveloped ones.

The project is expected to begin next year and completed till 2025, at a whopping of 3 billion.