CHINA - Sales of high-speed rail tickets between Shanghai and Nanjing will be suspended indefinitely from Saturday - just days after the multibillion-yuan link was launched amid a blaze of propaganda.

Rail authorities say the indefinite suspension will allow them to "optimise" the service. But the move appears to have been prompted by poor demand amid complaints about high ticket prices for a negligible saving in trip time.

The less-than-enthusiastic welcome to high-speed rail travel in the affluent Yangtze River Delta bodes ominously for the service's future nationwide, with links being constructed between major cities throughout the country.

It also calls into question feasibility studies carried out before the high-profile project was given the green light.

In an embarrassing climbdown for the Shanghai Railways Bureau, train ticket offices in the city yesterday displayed printed notices reading: "Following notification from above, the sale of high-speed rail tickets will be suspended from July 11, 2010, until further notice." Staff on duty said they had not been given any further explanation for the suspension.

The Shanghai-Nanjing link - part of a massive transport infrastructure upgrade spanning the Yangtze River Delta - was fast-tracked as part of the government's financial stimulus package and to help ferry tourists visiting the World Expo in Shanghai. It was launched on Thursday - exactly two years after work began - with headlines in local newspapers boasting it would cut journey times to as little as 73 minutes.