The USD32 billion high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai opens for business this month, reducing rail travel time between the cities from 10 hours to just four. Connecting China’s two main cities, the line is expected to lead to dramatic changes to the Beijing-Shanghai air corridor, with the surface operation offering a considerable challenge to the growth of the country’s domestic airlines. As cautioned by CAAC Vice Minister Wang Changshun earlier this year, the opening of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line would be “another blow to the air transport industry”.