Journeys between Guangzhou and western regions will be cut to a day
Planned improvements to transport networks will reduce travel times between Guangzhou and other major cities in the Pan-Pearl River Delta to less than a day, central government officials said yesterday.
Leaders from nine provinces in southern China and the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions gathered in Hong Kong yesterday to discuss the creation of an economic co-operation zone spanning their region.
The first step towards realising the goal is to greatly expand the transport networks in the region, according to Railways Minister Liu Zhijun and Communications Minister Zhang Chunxian .
'The existing railway networks in the region are lagging behind its social and economic developments,' said Mr Liu. 'At present, there is no direct train [service] from the Pearl River Delta to coastal regions in the east. The rail link with south-western regions is also in very bad shape.'
The cities of region - which covers one-fifth of China - will be linked by an extensive rail network. The minister said the railways in the region would be expanded from the existing 19,000km to 29,000km by 2020.