Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail service starts

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed railway, a section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway, has opened to traffic. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen section has 5 stations: Guangzhou South Station, Dongyong Station in Panyu District, Humen Station in Dongguan City, Guangming Station in Shenzhen and Shenzhen North Station. The new high-speed railway is 147 kilometres long, and runs every day from 07h00 to 22h00, there are 36 pairs of G trains (the fastest train in China) running between these two cities. The running speed can reach to 300 kilometers per hour, and the shortest time for a journey is 35 minutes. Tickets cost 100 yuan for a first-class seat and 75 yuan for a second-class seat.

Other than linking two major metropolises, the new link will also facilitate the industrial development between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, strengthening the city of Dongguan as the manufacturing hub. From Guangzhou, the express link takes passengers to the Central China’s hub of Wuhan in as little as three hours and 33 minutes. A slower train that runs at 250km per hour is also available but the journey takes more than six hours. This section began operation exactly two years ago, with fares starting RMB220 (US$35) for the slow train and RMB465 (US$74) for the express service. The Hong Kong section of the link is scheduled for completion in 2015. If all goes well, it will take only 15 minutes to travel to Shenzhen North Railway Station from West Kowloon in Hong Kong. When full integration with the mainland network is achieved, passengers will be able to reach Shanghai and Beijing from Hong Kong by rail in six and eight hours respectively.