The one-hour life circle within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be further bolstered.

Guangzhou is planning to build a railway section connecting the Guangzhou Railway Station with the Guangzhou South Railway Station, which will shorten the travel time from downtown Guangzhou to the downtown area of the Hong Kong SAR to just one hour if you take the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link（XRL）.

The news was released at a press conference held today (Feb.24th) on Guangzhou's implementation of construction on its major global transport hub, one of a series of press conferences marking the second anniversary of the launch of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area（GBA）.

In addition to this, Zhou Qingfeng, Deputy Director-General of the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission, also said at the press conference that the city is currently taking multiple measures to promote inter-city railway planning and construction within the GBA.

He added plans would also be made for a high-speed railway linking the cities of Guangzhou, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, and Macao, as well as an inter-city rail between Guangzhou's Nansha district and Zhuhai city , to strengthen rapid access between Guangzhou and Macao, and to integrate Macao and Zhuhai into China's high-speed railway network.

Photo: Xinhua

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail was opened to traffic on September 23, 2018. As an essential part of China's "four vertical and four horizontal" high-speed rail networks, this railway's full operation not only shortens the spatial distance between Guangzhou and Hong Kong but also brings China's three key cities together.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express rail link currently in operation has two departure and arrival stations respectively at the Guangzhou South Railway Station and the Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station, with a total of five stopovers in Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen.

For example, if one travels from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, the fastest ride on the Guangzhou-Hong Kong high-speed rail from the West Kowloon Railway Station to the Guangzhou South Railway Station would take 47 minutes, while it would take about one extra hour to travel to the downtown area of Guangzhou. The overall ride would take around two hours to reach the downtown areas of both cities.

Once the above-mentioned railway section becomes operational, it will facilitate exchanges between the central areas of Guangzhou and the Hong Kong SAR. As a result, the cooperation and development between these two cities will be further strengthened, which will enhance interconnection within the GBA.

Source: GRTRadio