CHINA’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved feasibility studies paving the way for the construction of two new high-speed lines, totalling 450km.
One is a new section of the Beijing - Hong Kong high-speed railway to be built between Fuyang in Anhui province and Huanggang in Hubei province in eastern China.
The 318km line, which will cost Yuan 52.1bn ($US 7.45bn) to build, will add a westerly north-south route to supplement the current high-speed line between the two cities, running via Xinyang in Henan province and Macheng in Hubei province, from where it will join the current line to the north of Jiujiang. The existing high-speed line runs to the east, via Hefei, capital of Anhui province, and Anqing.
The other is a high-speed line from Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, in southern China, to Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Island. The island was recently designated a zero-tariff customs zone.
The project comprises 132.3km of new high-speed line, requiring a total investment of approximately Yuan 40bn. No physical connection (either a bridge or a tunnel) between the mainland and Hainan Island is included in the plans, with passengers crossing the 23km Qiongzhou Strait by sea.
Last month the new Guangzhou - Zhanjiang high-speed line opened, which could connect directly to the planned line to provide through journeys from Guangzhou and beyond.
China Railway’s (CR) latest Five Year Plan proposes to grow the country’s high-speed network by 10,000km to around 60,000km by 2030.
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