The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Photos: VCG

Experts from the Chinese Academy of Engineering revealed on Saturday at an infrastructure construction forum that Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the Hong Kong Special Administration Region are planning to design a maglev train with a speed of 650 kilometers per hour. 

The forum on transportation infrastructure was held in South China's Guangzhou Province on Saturday, attended by several experts. Chen Xiangsheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, gave a speech on promoting the integration of rail transit in the Greater Bay Area and revealed the latest progress in the research on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong SAR maglev train.

Contrary to the initially announced design, the speed would increase from 600 kilometers per hour to 650 kilometers per hour. There are four proposed routes, each confirmed to extend north to Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou and south to Kowloon in Hong Kong SAR.

Among them, Chen stated that the route connecting Guangzhou East Station, Guancheng in Donguan city and Xiangmi Lake in Shenzhen is the most ideal, but there is some uncertainty whether it can be successfully implemented. He also said there are plans for a route between Shanghai and Hangzhou, and Chengdu, Chongqing and other places are planning to build maglev lines as well.

Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong SAR are located in the most economically developed areas of the Greater Bay Area. Passenger flow density exceeded 100 million people in 2017, approaching saturation, and it is expected to increase to 260 million by 2035. Therefore, it is necessary to add high-speed transportation projects to meet the transportation demands between these cities, aiming for a half-hour city integration in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao region.