NDRC Approves Intercity Rail Plan of the Greater Bay Area

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently gave the green light to the gradual launch of intercity rail projects in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Fa Gai Ji Chu No. 1238 [2020]). The objective is to build railways that will allow people to commute between major cities in one hour, travel from major cities to prefectural-level cities within Guangdong in two hours, and travel from major cities to neighbouring provincial capitals in three hours.

The plan includes 13 intercity railways and five terminal projects and has a short-term total mileage goal of 775 kilometres. Projects to be launched before 2022 include the railway between the Shenzhen airport and Pingshan of the airport-Daya Bay intercity railway, the northern extension of the Guangzhou-Qingyuan intercity railway and four other railways, and three railway hubs including the renovation of the Guangzhou East Station. The planned total investment in short-term construction projects is about RMB 474.1 billion.

Source: National Development and Reform Commission