The Guangzhou-Shanwei High-speed Railway will be put into operation today, helping reduce the travel time between Guangzhou and Shanwei from two hours to around one.

As a key project in Guangdong, the new railway connects the Guangzhou-Beijing line, Guangzhou-Shenzhen line, Hangzhou-Shenzhen line, and Beijing-Hong Kong line. With a total length of 206.2 kilometers, the railway starts from Xintang in Guangzhou, passes through Huizhou, and terminates at Shanwei.

The trip between Shanwei Station and Guangzhou East Railway Station, and between Shanwei Station and Shenzhen North Railway Station will take 73 minutes and 70 minutes, respectively, China Railway Group said yesterday.

The new line has eight stations — Xintang, Zengcheng, Luofushan, Boluo, Huizhou South, Huidong, Shenshan and Shanwei.

The line connects with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Railway at Xintang Station, and is connected to the Ganzhou-Shenzhen High-speed Railway through a spur line between Boluo and Huizhou North stations, and another spur line between Huizhou South and Zhongkai stations.

The first train on the line will depart from Guangzhou East Railway Station at 8:30 a.m. today and arrive at Shanwei Station at 9:43 a.m.

The fare for a trip between Guangzhou East and Shanwei stations costs 162 yuan (US$22) for a second-class seat and 247 yuan for a first-class seat.

The operator will run 29 pairs of trains a day for the line’s initial operation stage and 43 in the latter half of this year, including four pairs between Shenzhen North and Shanwei stations.

The Guangzhou-Shanwei High-speed Railway will also accelerate the integration of eastern Guangdong into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, according to the railway group.

It is part of a new high-speed railway linking Guangzhou and Ningbo in East China’s Zhejiang Province, which is one of China’s massive “Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal” high-speed railway network. Upon completion in 2030, the network can realize a traffic circle within one to four hours between adjacent large and medium-sized cities, and 30 minutes to two hours in the country’s major urban agglomerations.