Guangdong is accelerating construction on high speed rail links across the province. By 2020, 21 cities will be accessible by high speed railway, according to the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission. Check out the latest map.
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-HK XRL (express rail link)
Major work on the Hong Kong section of the XRL was completed on March 24th, Xinhua reported. Trial runs are expected to begin on April 1st. As Guangzhou and Shenzhen section opened in Dec. 2011, the Hong Kong section is slated to officially launch in September this year. It will link Hong Kong directly to the mainland’s sprawling high speed network.
According to China Daily, fares from Hong Kong to Guangzhou will be set at HK$260 ($33) per trip, and to Futian in Shenzhen, Shenzhen North and Humen in Dongguan will be set at HK$80 ($10), HK$90 ($11.5), and HK$210 ($27) respectively. On 130 anticipated peak days each year, there will be 228 trains, (114 in each direction) daily between Hong Kong and the four mainland stations,.
Four high speed railways to open
Railways in western Guangdong
1.Jiangmen -- Maoming high speed railway will be opened in June this year. It will shorten the trip between Guangzhou and Maoming from 5 to 2.5 hours. This section is linked up to the newly opened Maoming -- Zhanjiang railway, which will shorten the journey time between Guangzhou and Zhanjiang to a mere 3 hours. It’s expected to greatly ease severe traffic jams in the province’s western regions during peak holiday times.
2.Shenzhen -- Maoming high speed railway
The construction of the Shenzhen -- Jiangmen section of the Shenzhen -- Maoming high speed railway is expected to be completed by 2023. It will take 3 hours from Shenzhen to Maoming, and 3.5 hours to Zhanjiang.
3.Meizhou -- Shantou high speed railway
It will become the first high speed railway to link Guangdong’s Hakka heartland with the Chaoshan area and also the first high speed railway to run out of Meizhou. It’s expected to open in August, 2019. It will then only take take half an hour from Meizhou to Shantou, 1.5 hours to Xiamen, 2.5 hours to Shenzhen and a mere 3.5-hours to Guangzhou.
4.Jiangxi-Shenzhen high speed railway which is estimated to open in 2020, will run a through both Heyuan and Huizhou. As a result it will only take about 40 minutes from Heyuan to Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Intercity express services already in operation
1. Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity express
The main express service operating between Guangdong’s two metropolises since 2011. It takes just 22 minutes from Guangzhou to Dongguan and 66 minutes to Shenzhen.
2. Dongguan-Huizhou intercity express
The whole route takes around an hour at a price of 60 RMB.
3. Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing intercity express
This line, opened in 2016, has connected Guangzhou and Foshan, Zhaoqing in one-hour travel circle.
4.Guangzhou-Zhuhai intercity express
The line runs through 5 cities including Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Zhuhai. The total route takes about an hour.
Interprovincial high speed services already in operation
1. Shenzhen-Xiamen high speed railway
2. Guangzhou-Nanning high speed railway
3. Guangzhou-Guizhou high speed railway
More railways are under construction. A more convenient and accessible Guangdong is on the horizon!
Author: Sylvia
Editor: Simon
