Most trains will stop short of new mega hub

While officials keep stressing the importance of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong express rail link in connecting to the high-speed national rail network at Shibi, Guangzhou, an internal MTR report shows that nearly 80 per cent of the trains are not intended to stop at Guangzhou but will end in Shenzhen.

According to the study on the greater Pearl River Delta's railway development obtained by the Post, only 25 pairs of trains, or about one fifth of the 114 train pairs set to run between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, will stop at the new station in Shibi by 2020 - five years after the HK$39.5 billion link begins to operate.

The vast majority of train pairs, 78.95 per cent, will terminate at either Futian station or Longhua station, in Shenzhen. From the link's West Kowloon terminus it takes only 14 minutes to reach Shenzhen city centre in Futian, and 23 minutes to Longhua.

A government official said while authorities did expect most passengers on the link to stop in Shenzhen initially, an increasing number would eventually stop at Guangzhou, and more would take longer-haul trips to cities such as Beijing and Wuhan , which now takes about 10 hours.

However, the report indicated the opposite. Only 25 pairs of trains, or 17.85 per cent of the 140 train pairs to run by 2030 - 15 years after the link begins operating - will stop in Guangzhou, while 108 pairs of trains, or 77 per cent, are still expected to stop at the two Shenzhen stations.

The latest revelation has raised doubts about the effectiveness of the project, which a concern group said had been reduced from a national rail link to a domestic shuttle train.