After 12 years of construction and 14 trillion won of investment, the Gyeongbu high-speed railway has finally been completed.

The Korea National Railroad is making last-minute preparations for the opening ceremony to be held at the Seoul Station plaza Tuesday morning.

After the ceremony, officials and citizens will be invited to take a test ride to Daejon in the central part of the country.

With high-speed railway service, travel time between Seoul and Busan will be reduced to two hours and 40 minutes, one and a half hours less than that of the fastest train currently operating on the route.

The 'bullet train' can run at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. Commercial service will begin on Thursday.

Officials say that the high-speed train will save the country one point eight trillion won or one point six billion U.S. dollars in logistics cost next year alone.

Another high speed railway linking Seoul and Mokpo in the southwest was dedicated earlier this month.