HOHHOT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Construction was finished Tuesday on the first high-speed railway in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the builder.

With a designed speed of 250 km per hour, the 287-km-long railway passes the regional capital of Hohhot, the region's Ulanqab City, and Zhangjiakou City in neighboring Hebei Province, according to Hohhot Rail of China Railway.

The railway is expected to start operations as early as the end of 2019 along with the Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway that is still under construction.

The two lines will reduce the travel time between Beijing and Hohhot from the current nine hours to less than three hours.