It is learned from Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province that the construction standard of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is planned to be adjusted to a 350 km/h passenger-dedicated line, and the design unit is conducting technical scheme research. Relevant departments will actively communicate and coordinate to accelerate the preliminary work of the project and strive to start construction in the first half of next year.
It is understood that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is located in the coastal area at the border of Guangdong and Guangxi. It connects to the Guangxi coastal high-speed railway in the west, and in Zhanjiang East it connects to the Litang-Zhanjiang Line, Luoyang-Zhanjiang Line, and the Maoming-Zhanjiang section of the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway. It also links to Hainan Province via the Zhanjiang-Hai'an Line, the planned Qiongzhou Strait cross-sea passage. The railway is an important part of China's coastal railway corridor and is of great significance for expanding the coastal railway transport capacity of Guangdong and Guangxi, optimizing and improving the layout of the regional railway network, promoting economic complementarity and coordinated development between the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone and the free trade pilot zones and free trade ports with Chinese characteristics in western Guangdong and Hainan, and undertaking the westward transfer of industries from the Pearl River Delta.
In view of this, Guangdong and Guangxi are joining hands to accelerate various tasks for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway. Guangdong attaches great importance to the construction of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, regards the project as an important railway corridor out of the province, and has included it in the provincial key construction project plan. Previously, Guangdong and Guangxi have jointly sent a letter to the Development and Reform Department of China Railway Corporation, requesting support to raise the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway from 250 km/h to 350 km/h, and to formally launch work related to the design standard of 350 km/h after approval.
On June 27 this year, the seminar specifically listened to a report by the design unit China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group on the research work concerning the 350 km/h speed target scheme for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, and studied and discussed the 350 km/h speed target scheme for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway.
In recent years, Zhanjiang City and China Railway Nanning Group have strengthened communication and deepened cooperation, actively promoting the electrification renovation of the Litang-Zhanjiang Railway and the start of construction of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway. Recently, with the support of relevant leaders of Guangdong and Guangxi, the request to adjust the construction standard of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway from 250 km/h to 350 km/h has received a positive response and support from China Railway Corporation. On the basis of existing cooperation achievements with China Railway Nanning Group, Zhanjiang City will further strengthen cooperation, facilitate approval of the speed increase for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, start construction in the first half of next year, support the implementation of the Zhanjiang hub master plan, achieve the goal of "high-speed rail entering the city," and provide faster, more convenient, and more user-friendly services for Zhanjiang's urban development and residents' travel.
At present, Zhanjiang is in a golden period, opportunity period, and window period of development. Zhanjiang City will seize the great opportunities, through overall planning, achieve seamless connection of transportation infrastructure such as the new airport, expressways, high-speed rail, and ports, and build Zhanjiang into a truly national comprehensive transportation hub. According to relevant plans, Zhanjiang strives to realize the scientific access of five major high-speed and rapid corridors—the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway, Guangzhou-Zhanjiang Passenger Dedicated Line, Hepu-Zhanjiang High-Speed Railway, Zhanjiang-Haikou High-Speed Railway, and Zhangjiajie-Haikou High-Speed Railway—to the high-speed rail hub station in downtown Zhanjiang as soon as possible. As for issues requiring Zhanjiang's coordination and support for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, Zhanjiang will fully support and provide good services, promote the full-scale construction of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, ensure obstacle-free construction of the railway project, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.