URUMQI - A low-cost train service linking Kashgar and Hotan, two cities in the south of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, will begin in May.

According to the regional railway authority, a journey between the two cities will cost 28 yuan ($4.3), and a ticket for the cheapest section will be just one yuan.

The line will link a total of nine cities and counties in the underdeveloped region and a complete journey will take about eight hours.

Si Shenmin, an official with the Urumqi railway bureau, told Xinhua that the low prices will not come at the cost of speed or service.

Southern Xinjiang has many poverty-stricken counties. The income of locals are below the national average.