TIANJIN, China - High-speed trains have begun running from the new railway station at Yujiapu in Binhai CBD, cutting journey times to Beijing to just 45 minutes. Yujiapu – the world’s biggest and deepest underground high-speed station – will have around 35 high-speed train departures every day, delivering a rapid service to the capital every 30 minutes. “Strengthening transport links is a vital part of regional integration and the new high speed service from Yujiapu will help bind Tianjin, Beijing and Hebei into a productive smoothly functioning whole,” said Zheng Weiming, Chairman of CBD’s Administrative Committee. Yujiapu will function as a transport hub – it is connected to lines B1, B2 and Z1 of the Tianjin metro and also features parking for taxi, private cars and a bus line hub. World-class shopping is on offer. The underground Commercial Street project is complete and is home to the 20,000 square meter [phase-one] Yujiapu Global Shopping Mall. Yujiapu station has been designed to the highest environmental specifications. The entrances, which feature a latticework dome and a steel structure, are located in parkland. The station itself covers 86,000 square meters and has 16,000 energy-saving LED lamps installed, whose light intensity varies according to passenger volume. Vacuum sewage systems in the bathrooms are designed to save up to 80 percent of the water used by conventional wastewater disposal systems. “China’s aim is to become the home of hi-tech industry and to develop new technology that offers greater harmony with the environment. Yujiapu high-speed railway station exemplifies both these values,” added Zheng. Yujiapu station is located within the Binhai CBD, which has achieved rapid growth in the first half of 2015. Its GDP rose to $1 billion, 76% up on last year. Total revenues were up by a third at $285 million. Foreign investment hit $128 million while domestic Chinese investment was $1.25 billion. The CBD accommodates over 12,000 tenant companies, with 500 new additions on average per month. Most tenants are head offices of firms, financial companies, cross-border trading, or IT and internet firms. To boost service to these companies, CBD has completed work on its one-stop shop administrative hall offering a streamlined business registration process. For any industries not included in the negative list, company registration is normally finished within one day. The new station will also help Tianjin achieve its goals under its new central government-designated status as a ‘double creativity’ pilot zone for innovation and entrepreneurship. So far, Tianjin is the only Chinese province to have been given this status.