A new high-speed rail line connecting Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, will begin operations Tuesday, railway authorities said Friday.

Forty-five of the 50 high-speed trains to ply the route will travel between Shanghai's Hongqiao Station and Hangzhou Station. The other five will connect Shanghai Station and Hangzhou.

The new service will shorten the travel time between Hongqiao and Hangzhou from 1.5 hours to 45 minutes.

Total investment in the 202-km-long Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line totaled 29.29 billion yuan (4.4 billion U.S. dollars).

Construction on the line began in February 2009.

Tickets for the service began selling Friday. A first-class ticket on the Hongqiao to Hangzhou line costs 131 yuan while a second-class ticket costs 82 yuan.

China is rapidly improving its railway system amid increased pressures on its transportation system.

By 2012, the country plans to have built 42 high-speed passenger rail lines with total track length of 13,000 kilometers.