Thursday, according to local railway administration sources.

The bridge on the line from Lianyungang in the eastern province of Jiangsu to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China was destroyed by heavy floods on June 9.

The reconstructed Bahe River railway bridge, near Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, is expected to open to traffic in September this year, when traffic on the Lianyungang-

Urumqi railway will return to normal.

The 395-meter new bridge, with double-track railways, will allow trains to travel at a speed of up to 120 kilometers an hour.

The Lianyungang-Urumqi railway is one of China's four major arterial routes, and the Xi'an section links China's western region with northern and eastern parts of the country.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2002)