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Guangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed rail service commences

Originally published on www.businesstraveller.asia 27/12/2011 - Filed under: News »

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The G6126 train left Shenzhen North Railway Station at 10.40am on December 26 to mark the opening of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. In the early phase of operation, the train will operate at 300km per hour, almost halving the commute time between China’s third largest city and the fast-developing Special Economic Zone across the border from Hong Kong.

Much of the station in Shenzhen is still under construction, with facilities such as shops and restaurants still in the works, and it is located further north in the Boa’an District ­­­­- a long way from all the popular checkpoints with Hong Kong. But the RMB4.3 billion (US$681 million) project is being developed as the future interchange station for the Express Rail Link, Xiamen-Shenzhen railway line and Shenzhen Metro lines 4 and 5.  

For now, the train runs from 7am daily, with the last departure set at 10pm. There three stops between the two cities, but the journey still takes just 35 minutes – about 30 minutes less than by the old train between Guangzhou East Station and Shenzhen Railway Station. But according to Shenzhen Government Online (www.sz.gov.cn), travel time of this section will eventually be reduced to 25 minutes, as the train is designed to run at 380km per hour.

Ticket prices for the new express link between Guangzhou and Shenzhen are RMB100 (US$16) for first-class seats and RMB75 (US$12) for the regular cabin – even lower than the old train. 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.

The commencement of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen express rail service signified a major step forward for China’s high-speed rail development. But the journey has not been without setbacks. Construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen link has been marred by a series of accidents since March, including one earlier this month in which 16 workers were reportedly buried in a tunnel, resulting in two deaths and three seriously injured. On July 23, two high-speed trains travelling on the Yongtaiwen railway line collided on a viaduct in the suburbs of Wenzhou, in the Zhejiang Province of China. The accident prompted the public to question whether the country’s ambitious plans to develop high-speed railway were at the cost of compromised safety. Ridership has been hit by plummeting public confidence and the launch of slower services is also believed to be in response to the tragedy.

For ticketing information, the official webiste is www.12306.cn, although information is only available in Chinese. For assistance in travels in China, one of the best places to turn to is China Travel Service, which has offices in Hong Kong. Click here for information in English.

For more on Wuhan, see story here.

For more on Shenzhen, see story here.

Reggie Ho 

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• China
• Guangzhou
• High-speed rail
• Hong Kong
• Shenzhen
• Wuhan

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