Shenzhen–Zhanjiang high-speed railway

The Shenzhen–Zhanjiang railway is a high-speed railway across the south of Guangdong province. Currently it runs from Jiangmen to Zhanjiang West. It will link the cities of Shenzhen and Zhanjiang 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 387 km route from Xili railway station to Maoming East railway station. The existing Xinhui branch of the Guangzhou–Zhuhai intercity railway will be included as a central link, with 265 km 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.

Starting at Xili railway station, the railway will travel through a tunnel to Shenzhen Airport East railway station at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport. It will then cross through a tunnel underneath the Pearl River before reaching Xiaolan, 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 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 387 km 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 2036 m 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 at the bird park, which is only 800 m 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 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.