The new high-speed railway linking Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, and Guangzhou successfully passed a critical operations test yesterday and could be open to the public later this month.

The rail cuts the previous travel time of 10 hours between the two cities to less than three hours with an average speed of 350km/h. Chinese media said it is the longest railway with the world's fastest trains.

Ticket prices have not been published yet. Earlier reports said it might be 500 yuan ($73), double the current berth ticket price.

Although travel agencies are concerned the pricey high-speed train may not be a hit with the public, experts say the project is in itself a technological marvel that cost an investment of 100 billion yuan.

"A successful operation of the high-speed railway of more than 1,000 km will help demonstrate China's technological strength ... and appeal to countries like Russia, India and the United States, which also have broad territories and a plan for building high-speed railways," said Yang Hao, professor in railway transport with Beijing Jiaotong University.

Other countries with advanced high-speed railway technology, such as Germany, Japan and France, do not carry passengers over the same distance as China's railway will.

Earlier media reports said countries such as Russia, the US and India have expressed interest in working with China.

A railway researcher told China Daily earlier that the long-distance, high-speed railway is more demanding on train manufacturing technologies than China's first 120-km, high-speed rail link between Beijing and Tianjin.