On December 22, the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou – Zhanjiang High – Speed Railway was held at Guangzhou Baiyun Station and Zhanjiang North Station. At around 10:30 a.m., Huang Kunming, Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, announced the official opening of the Guangzhou – Zhanjiang High – Speed Railway. As a long whistle sounded, the inaugural train G9785 slowly pulled out of Guangzhou Baiyun Station. Meanwhile, train G9786 departed in the opposite direction from Zhanjiang North Station, marking the official opening and operation of the railway project with the highest construction standards, the longest route and the largest investment independently funded and constructed in the history of Guangdong Province. Meng Fanli, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee, Governor of Guangdong Province and Secretary of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, attended the ceremony.
It is reported that the Guangzhou – Zhanjiang High – Speed Railway is a vital part of China’s “Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal” high – speed railway network and the 350 – km – per – hour coastal high – speed railway corridor. Construction of the project started in September 2019, with a total length of 401 kilometers. Along the entire line, 9 new stations have been built, namely Foshan Station, Fozhao Station, Xinxing South Station, Yangchun East Station, Yangjiang North Station, Mata Station, Maoming South Station, Wuchuan Station and Zhanjiang North Station, while Yangxi Station and Zhanjiang East Station are reserved for future construction. After the opening of the project, the travel time between Guangzhou and Zhanjiang has been shortened from about 3 hours to approximately 1.5 hours, which effectively improves the travel conditions of residents in western Guangdong. It is of great significance for giving play to the radiating and driving role of the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Greater Bay Area, promoting the high – quality development of western Guangdong, and facilitating interconnection between the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Greater Bay Area, the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the Hainan Free Trade Port.
