BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Tickets for China's new high-speed trains went on sale on Saturday as the first bullet trains will hit the track next Wednesday, said a spokesman for the Ministry of Railways here Saturday in Beijing.

On April 18, 280 bullet trains, which can travel at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, will be put into operation between the country's major cities. A total of 514 such trains will be in use by the end of this year.

The base price for the tickets is slightly higher than ordinary trains, according to the spokesman.

At a press conference Thursday, Vice Minister of Railways Hu Yadong said raising the speed limit will help boost passenger and cargo capacity on the nation's 77,000-km railway lines by 18 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Travel time between major cities will be slashed by up to 50 percent. Currently, express trains in China travel at an average of 115 kilometers per hour.