Recently, the research results of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway were revealed. According to the feasibility study plan, the Guangzhou North to Zhuhai Hezhou section of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway has a total of 6 stations, namely Guangzhou North Station, Baiyun Airport Station, Yuzhu (Huangpu) Station, Nansha Station, Zhongshan Station and Zhuhai Hezhou Station.

Schematic diagram of the alignment of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway feasibility study

The newly built main line of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway is about 190 kilometers long, with a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour. It starts from Guangzhou North Station, passes through Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, Yuzhu, Nansha, Zhongshan and Zhuhai Hezhou, and ends at Hengqin Port. Its southern end connects with the Macao Light Rapid Transit for transfers, and its northern end connects with the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway and the Guangzhou-Qingyuan-Yongzhou High-Speed Railway. It is a component of the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Corridor.

Among the 6 stations of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway, Baiyun Airport Station has already been incorporated into the construction of the Baiyun Airport T3 to Jiangcun West section of the Guangzhou-Heyuan High-Speed Railway; Yuzhu (Huangpu) Station is a reserved station for the Guangzhou East to Xintang fifth and sixth lines; Nansha Station has been incorporated into the construction of the Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway; Zhongshan Station is an expansion of an existing station on the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway; and Zhuhai Hezhou Station is a station under construction on the Zhuhai-Zhaoqing High-Speed Railway.

In addition, the four-track road-rail bridge of the project crossing the Hongqili Waterway has been built concurrently within the Shenzhen-Jiangmen Railway project.

At Yuzhu Station, the main line of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway, after connecting through with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen third and fourth lines, is introduced into Guangzhou East Station; at Nansha Station, a reserved connecting line is planned to connect with the Maoming to Guangzhou direction of the Shenzhen-Maoming Railway.

In 2021, the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway project was incorporated into the national "14th Five-Year Plan" railway development plan and the "14th Five-Year Plan" Development Plan for the Comprehensive Transportation System of Guangdong Province. The line is positioned as an important north-south national railway corridor on the west bank of the Pearl River.

At present, the feasibility study review of the Zhuhai Hezhou to Hengqin section of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway has been completed, and the Guangzhou North to Zhuhai Hezhou section is advancing the preparation of the prerequisite documents related to the approval of the feasibility study and preliminary design. The entire line is expected to start construction during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

Schematic diagram of the site selection for Hengqin High-Speed Railway Station

At the end of August 2023, the tender announcement for the "Government Procurement Project for Research on the Station-City Integration of Hengqin High-Speed Railway Station and Its Supporting Rail Transit Engineering Schemes" was released.

The announcement shows that the Macao Light Rapid Transit is proposed to extend westward from Hengqin Port to Hengqin Station of the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway, with a length of about 7-9 kilometers. Considering that the high-speed railway station will drive the development of both Hengqin and Macao and facilitate exchanges between Hengqin and Macao and the mainland, it is necessary to carry out station-city integration planning research based on the new site selection to support the high-quality development of Hengqin-Macao integration.

After the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway is completed and opened to traffic, travel for people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be more convenient and faster, achieving rapid direct access from Guangzhou North to Hengqin within 1 hour, and cities on the west bank of the Pearl River will also be able to reach Baiyun Airport directly via the Guangzhou-Zhuhai-Macao High-Speed Railway.