Guangzhou–Zhuhai railway () is a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

between () in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

and () in

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...

, via the cities of

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

and

Jiangmen Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitants ar ...

, in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Opened at the end of 2012, it is currently used for freight only.

Role

Until the 21st century, Zhuhai did not have any railway connections to the rest of the country. Now, however, there are two new railways there: besides the Guangzhou–Zhuhai railway for freight trains, the passenger-only

Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway or Guangzhu intercity railway () is a dedicated, grade-separated regional railway linking Guangzhou South railway station in Panyu, Guangzhou, Jiangmen railway station in Xinhui, Jiangmen,and Zhuhai Jin ...

, is a passenger-only line, started construction in 2005 and was to be completed in 2010. Since the intercity rail will take up the role of the passenger service between Guangzhou and Zhuhai/Jiangmen, this can explain why Guangzhou–Zhuhai railway will not be routed via Guangzhou City Area.

History

Map of 2012 Guangzhou-Zhuhai railway route This railway project was approved by the State Development Planning Commission in 1993. The construction originally started in 1997, but it was stopped later due to lack of funds. Construction was resumed in 2007; at the time, it was expected to be completed in 2011.Guangzhou-Zhuhai Rail Back on Track
/ref> However, work did not proceeded as fast as expected; as of December 2011, it was reported that although most of the critical components of the project was completed, there was still about 100 m to go at the Jiangmen tunnel (see below), and the Jiangbei Bridge was still under construction.
(The Guangzhou–Zhuhai Railway Company will run numerous direct freight trains between Guangzhou and Zhuhai), 2011-12-01 In mid-October 2012, it was reported that the construction work has been essentially completed. The railway opened for freight traffic on December 30, 2012.

Infrastructure

The line has a total length of and a maximum speed of . Between and

, the line is double-track. From Jiangmen to , the line is single-track. The entire line is electrified with provisions to allow for operating double-stack container trains.

Jiangmen tunnel

Constructing the railway involved digging a 9185 m long tunnel in Jiangmen. By May 2010, over half of the tunnel had been dug, and the entire tunnel was expected to be completed by the end of February 2011.广珠铁路穿山4685米入地4500米广珠铁路穿山4685米入地4500米
(2010-05-15) However, as of December 2011, it was reported that the workers still had about 100 m to go.

Future

The railway is expected to carry passenger services in the future.

Nansha Port railway

A branch from Yayao railway station, the

Nansha Port railway The Nansha Port railway () is a railway line in Guangdong Province, China. History Construction began in 2016. During construction, this line was changed from a freight-only railway to a combined passenger and freight line. It opened on 31 Decemb ...

, will link the line with Nansha port and will also carry passengers to

Nansha railway station Nansha railway station () is a railway station currently under construction in Nansha District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. History Two railways currently under construction, the Nansha Port railway, and the Shenzhen–Zhanjiang high-s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guangzhou-Zhuhai Railway Railway lines in China Rail transport in Guangdong Transport in Guangzhou Nanhai District Jiangmen Zhuhai Railway lines opened in 2012