Recently, the reporter learned from the Beihai Municipal Development and Reform Commission that the preliminary work of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway has made new progress: the project's adjusted feasibility study report was recently approved by the National Development and Reform Commission. This means that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, which the people of Beihai have been looking forward to for more than 10 years, has taken a substantive step toward actual construction.

It is understood that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is part of the coastal high-speed railway from Shanghai via Ningbo to Hepu in the national "14th Five-Year Plan," an important part of the Baotou (Yinchuan)-Haikou corridor and the coastal corridor of the "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" high-speed railway network, and a major infrastructure project connecting the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The main line of the railway is 141.7 kilometers long. It is classified as a high-speed railway with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour, a total investment of about 25.7 billion yuan, and a construction period of four years.

Once the project is completed, it will greatly shorten the travel time from Beihai to the Greater Bay Area and is of great significance for promoting the integration of the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and advancing cooperation between the eastern and western regions.

Why is it said that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is something the people of Beihai have looked forward to for more than 10 years? The reporter learned that as early as February 2011, the National Development and Reform Commission had approved the project proposal for the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway, and in April 2015 it approved the feasibility study report for the project based on a speed standard of 200 km/h. In August 2015, the former China Railway Corporation, the People's Government of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and the People's Government of Guangdong Province also jointly approved the project's preliminary design.

However, considering that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is part of China's cross-regional high-speed railway skeleton network, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, after consultation with Guangdong Province, sent an official letter to the former China Railway Corporation suggesting that the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway be adjusted to a passenger-dedicated line with a speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

In November 2016, the adjusted feasibility study based on the 250 km/h speed standard was submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval, and in May 2017 the commission organized expert and industry reviews.

In April 2018, in order to build a fast main passenger corridor from the Hainan International Free Trade Zone (Port) to the inland southwestern and northwestern regions of China, and to complete a high-speed railway consistent with the standards of other planned lines in the corridor such as the Baotou (Yinchuan)-Haikou and Guangzhou-Zhanjiang lines, Guangdong Province, after consultation with the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, sent an official letter to China State Railway Group again suggesting that the design standard of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway be adjusted to a passenger-dedicated line with a speed of 350 kilometers per hour. In December 2019, China State Railway Group completed the review of the adjusted feasibility study based on the 350 km/h design standard.

"Because the design speed standard has been adjusted three times, and for various other reasons, the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway has made no major progress for more than 10 years since its project initiation."

A relevant person in charge of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission told the reporter that building the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway is the common wish of the whole city, and the autonomous region and Beihai City have all along done a great deal of work. Recently, municipal leaders have also traveled repeatedly to the National Development and Reform Commission and China State Railway Group to visit and coordinate on the progress of the project and to seek support from higher authorities.

Recently, the adjusted feasibility study report of the project was approved. This is exciting good news and will accelerate the early start of construction of the Hepu-Zhanjiang Railway. (End)

Schematic diagram of the Hepu-Zhanjiang high-speed railway network planning