The Shenzhen–Zhanjiang railway is a high-speed railway across the south of

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) ...

province. Currently it runs from

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 ...

to Zhanjiang West. It will link the cities of

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

and

Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,832 ...

when complete.

History

Announced as part of the 12th Five Year Plan for 2011–2016, it was projected that construction of this railway would begin. Tenders were called for early in 2013 with construction to begin before the end of that year. Construction officially began on 28 June 2014. The Jiangmen–Maoming section opened on 1 July 2018. Construction of Shenzhen to Jiangmen section started on 9 October 2022.

Route

The railway is to follow a route from

Xili railway station Xili railway station is a railway station in the Nanshan District, Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on t ...

to Maoming East railway station. The existing Xinhui branch of the

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 ...

will be included as a central link, with of new trackage extending west to Maoming and then a new tunnel across the Pearl River Delta from Shenzhen south of the

Humen Pearl River Bridge The Humen Pearl River Bridge () is a bridge over the Humen, Pearl River in Guangdong Province, southern China. It consists of two main spans - a suspension bridge section and a segmental concrete section. It connects the Nansha District of Guan ...

. Starting at

, the railway will travel through a tunnel to Shenzhen Airport East railway station at

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport) is the airport serving Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It is located on the east bank of the Pearl River near Huangtian and Fuyong villages in Bao'an District, and is n ...

. It will then cross through a

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

underneath the Pearl River before reaching

Xiaolan Xiaolan () is a town situated at the northwest periphery of the city of Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China. The population of Xiaolan is approximately 333,000, of which 182,000 are registered hukou residents. The town spans an area of . His ...

, Guzhen, Waihai, Jiangmen South, Shuangshuizhen, Taishan, Kaiping, Enping, Dahuai, Heshan, Yangjiang, Yangxi, Mata, Guanzhu, Dianbai and Maoming East.

Construction

The Maoming–Zhanjiang section was constructed between 2009 and 2013. The project was funded jointly by the, now defunct,

Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...

and the Guangdong Provincial Government. Construction commenced on 21 March 2009 and was opened to traffic on 28 December 2013. Although officially opened on 28 December 2013, no high-speed trains started using it at the time. Construction of the Shenzhen–Maoming railway was carried out in two sections: the Jiangmen–Maoming section and the Shenzhen–Jiangmen section. Construction of the section from Jiangmen to Maoming started in June 2014 and was opened on 1 July 2018. From this point on, thru high-speed service started along the Guangzhou–Jiangmen–Maoming–Zhanjiang route. A special feature of the Jiangmen–Maoming section is a steel tunnel protecting the Birds' Paradise from the noise of the high-speed railway line. The noise barrier reduces the noise of the train to about 50

dB SPL Sound pressure or acoustic pressure is the local pressure deviation from the ambient (average or equilibrium) atmospheric pressure, caused by a sound wave. In air, sound pressure can be measured using a microphone, and in water with a hydrophon ...

at the bird park, which is only away from the high-speed railway line. The section from Shenzhen to Jiangmen was delayed due to the complicated geographic condition of the mouth of the Pearl River and the large budget, 65.2 billion yuan (US$9.88 billion). The construction plan of

China Railway Guangzhou Group China Railway Guangzhou Group, officially abbreviated as CR Guangzhou or CR-Guangzhou, formerly, Guangzhou Railway (Group) Corporation from 1993 to 2017 and Guangzhou Railway Administration from 1953 to 1993, is a subsidiaries company under the ju ...

Corp. shows the Shenzhen-Jiangmen section costs 51.3 billion yuan (US$7.27 billion); the project starts from Xili railway station in Nanshan District of Shenzhen, and passes through Bao'an District of Shenzhen and Dongguan, Zhongshan to end in Jiangmen. It has seven stations: Xili, Shenzhen Airport East, Dongguan Binhaiwan, Nansha, Zhongshan North, Henglan and Jiangmen. Simultaneously, a 20.4-kilometer rail line will be built to link Shenzhen Airport East railway station with Shenzhen North railway station, and a 12.6-kilometer connecting line will be built in Jiangmen and Zhongshan. Upon completion of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen section in 2028, the trip from Qianhai to Nansha will be cut to 30 minutes and the trip between Shenzhen and Maoming will be cut to three hours. Once the Shenzhen-Jiangmen section is operational, passengers change to the Ganzhou-Shenzhen high-speed railway at Xili railway station and to the Hangzhou-Shenzhen high-speed railway and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway at Shenzhen North railway station. At Shenzhen Airport East railway station, the railay will offer transfers to Second Guangzhou–Shenzhen high-speed railway, which is currently under planning, and at Zhongshan railway station, it will be connected with Guangzhou-Zhuhai intercity railway. Construction of Shenzhen to Jiangmen section started on 9 October 2022. The section is 116 km in length with 7 stations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shenzhen-Zhanjiang High Speed Railway High-speed railway lines in China Rail transport in Guangdong Standard gauge railways in China