XI'AN - The first full-course test run was carried out Wednesday on a high-speed railway linking Xi'an with Chengdu, which is scheduled to enter operation within the year.

A high-speed train pulled out of the station Wednesday morning in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, and was expected to arrive in the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu three hours later.

Five pairs of trains will run between Xi'an and Chengdu every day, and another two pairs will run between Xi'an and Chongqing, according to the city's railway authority.

The 643-km line is China's first rail route to run through the Qinling Mountains. With a designed speed of 250 km per hour, it will slash the travel time between the two cities from the previous 16 hours.