China has became home to what it says is the world’s longest high-speed rail line, a 2,298 kilometer stretch of metal bisecting the country between the capital Beijing in the north and the southern boom city of Guangzhou.

The opening of the line on Wednesday was greeted with much fanfare in state media and even its own  bit of aircraft carrier style . The project signals that China hasn’t given up on its rail ambitions despite major setbacks. Last year’s deadly train crash near the city of Wenzhou laid bare deep problems with China’s high-speed rail surge. China’s Ministry of Railways has also endured hits to its finances. But the new line will help China reach its goal of having 18,000 kilometers of high-speed railway by 2015.

The question for Chinese travelers is whether the route beats the hassle of flying.

Anyone who has taken both in China knows that the process of getting on a train is much easier than getting on a plane – provided, of course, that you already have a ticket and aren’t traveling during the Lunar New Year . The food’s nothing to write home about, unless you like writing home about instant noodles, but the cars tend to be clean and the ride smooth.

In the case of the Beijing-Guangzhou line, a passenger will also need an extra dollop of patience. The ride takes eight hours, a sharp reduction from the previous 20 on the still-operational old-fashioned track between Beijing and Guangzhou. But that’s roughly enough time to fly between the two cities twice with some airport shopping in between. Unlike the traditional line, the new line doesn’t appear to offer an overnight service yet, so it isn’t much of an alternative for a passenger hoping to catch some Zs.

In a note last week Barclays sa BARC.LN +0.04%id it sees high-speed rail as competitive in terms of travel time, price and comfort. It said the lowest price tickets came to 865 yuan (about $139) for the rail line and 1,190 yuan for air travel, adding that it sees long-term pressure particularly on China’s short-haul flight operators.

Chinese airlines agree that high-speed rail represents competition, but dispute the idea that competition is heavy. A representative for Air China Ltd. 601111.SH 0.00%said the previous inauguration of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line pressured air ticket prices, but she said short flight durations still lure customers.

Airlines are also looking for ways to work with rail. James Wang, company secretary at China Eastern Airlines Co. 600115.SH -0.58%, said the airline has begun introducing ways to integrate tickets and luggage transfer between its planes and the rail lines, so that a traveler could choose to take a train to Shanghai to meet a friend for lunch before zipping to the airport to fly to Beijing on one ticket and without visiting baggage claim.

Mr. Wang also hopes a wider train network will encourage more Chinese people to travel, which he said could benefit the industry long term. “Travelers have more choice, and more choice means more travelers,” he said.