Uncertainly hangs over the launch date for high-speed train services between Guangzhou and Shenzhen after months of delay amid rumours of mounting safety concerns.
Mainland media say the launch of the services - expected to halve travel time between the two cities to 25 minutes - is imminent because authorities want them on line in time to ease pressure during the Lunar New Year peak travel period.
Some news outlets reported last week that services would begin on December 28, citing sources at a closed-door meeting in Guangzhou of inspectors from the Ministry of Railways. But Guangzhou Railway Group official He Zhiwen denied a timetable had been set. He said the project would be launched only when ready. 'We can't make any comment at this moment [on operation and safety details],' he said.
The section between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail link, was scheduled to open in August in time for a visit to Shenzhen by President Hu Jintao for the opening of the World University Games.
The plan was postponed indefinitely after Beijing ordered a nationwide inspection of high-speed rail projects following a deadly collision between two trains in Wenzhou in July that killed 40 people.
Then in September, an anonymous microblogger describing himself as a railway insider posted details online of more than 50 major problems spotted on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section during an assessment of the signal and track systems. Guangzhou Railway refused to comment on the post, other than to say it was not credible.
