Guangzhou and Shenzhen are spending billions of yuan to build transport hubs that will provide connection points for high-speed rail lines and urban rail services, as well as air travel, creating a network that promises to dramatically shorten travelling time between Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Shenzhen, which already has four such transport hubs, is now building another four, says Zhao Penglin, deputy secretary general of the Shenzhen municipal government.
The mainland's first comprehensive transport hub, Lo Wu (Luohu) station on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border, was built in 2004 at a cost of 500 million yuan.
It provides a terminus for intercity train services as well as urban rail stations serving Shenzhen. Passenger traffic through the hub now totals 600,000 a day during peak periods, said Zhao, who was speaking at the International Forum on Urban Mass Transit in Shanghai.
In Shenzhen, two extensive transport hubs, Shenzhen North and Futian, provide a connection for high-speed rail services to Guangzhou and Wuhan, and will eventually connect Hong Kong and Beijing via high-speed rail systems. The two centres, which started operating last year, together cost 7 billion yuan (HK$8.51 billion).
The transport centre at Shenzhen airport, which is already operating, will be upgraded to a comprehensive transport hub with additional rail links next year, while the Shenzhen East one will be completed next year, and the Chegong Temple centre in 2016.