The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation confirmed that part of the road linking the Chinese capital to Hebei's Chongli District, which will stage skiing events in 2022, will be open by the end of 2018.

Xinhua News Agency reports that the 42 kilometres section of the two-way, four-lane highway will stretch from Beijing's Sixth Ring Road to the outlying Yanqing District.

It is expected to be extended by another 116km to Chongli by the end of 2019.

The highway is considered an important part of Beijing 20222's infrastructure.

Like Chongli District, Yanqing District will also play host to ski events at the Games in four years' time.

Beijing is also building a high-speed rail line to connect the city with Zhangjiakou.

The design of the rail line's trains was unveiled in Beijing in October.

CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles company confirmed the trains, which have been specifically designed for use at the Winter Olympics, would have an athlete drug testing area.

The carriages will also be fully equipped with wifi and will include television screens showing live coverage of the action from the Games.

A dedicated media carriage will be installed on the trains to allow journalists to work while making the 194km journey between the two competition zones.

It is claimed the train will reduce journey times from around three hours to one hour.

The cost of the network is thought to be around the ¥58.41 billion (£6.62 billion/$8.95 billion/€7.51 billion) mark and construction is set to be completed in 2019.

Beijing, which also hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, will be the home of the ice sports at the Games and will play host to curling, ice hockey and skating.

The majority of skiing events at the Games will be held in Zhangjiakou, located to the north-west of Beijing.