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He Huifeng

The first high-speed trains between Shenzhen and Guangzhou began operating yesterday,  completing the 102 kilometre journey in just 35 minutes.
The line, part of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail link, was originally scheduled to open in August but was delayed  after a high-speed train ran into another in Wenzhou , Zhejiang , in July, killing 40 people.
The HK$60 billion Hong Kong-Shenzhen section of the link  is scheduled to open in 2015.
The first train heading north, carrying Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu and top Guangdong officials, left Shenzhen North railway station at 10.40am yesterday and arrived at Guangzhou South  in 28 minutes.
 During the non-stop journey, the eight-carriage G6126  unit hit a top speed of 310km/h. The central government had set a maximum speed limit of 300 km/h, down from 350 km/h, after the Wenzhou crash. 
The first train for the public's use left Shenzhen at 11.20am and made a one-minute stop at Humen  before arriving in Guangzhou at 11.56am. It reached a top speed of 297km/h. 
The trains will complete the trip twice as fast as conventional trains on  the 139 kilometre journey  between Guangzhou East station and Luohu station in Shenzhen, according to the Guangzhou Railway Group.  
A one-way first-class ticket costs 100 yuan (HK$122), while a second-class ticket costs 75 yuan - 5 yuan cheaper than on the slower line.  Many passengers said they were satisfied with the 'reasonable' and 'attractive' fares. 
But others found the service and the food on board wanting.  Train attendants, they said, had to apologise frequently for  bumping into passengers as the train wobbled  when it hit nearly 300km/h. Some passengers said their ears popped due to a sudden change in air pressure as the train sped through tunnels.  
'Making phone calls is a big problem on the train,' said He Xuewen, a manager at a state-owned enterprise in Shenzhen. 'The mobile signal  appeared very weak.  Telephone calls were often cut off and internet connection through my 3G USB modem was frequently disrupted.'
However, He said the new train was still 'very convenient', especially for businessmen travelling between the two cities. 
Passengers arriving at Guangzhou South could transfer directly to the inter-city line to Zhuhai and the high-speed trains to Changsha in Hunan and Wuhan in Hubei . Guides were waiting on the platform to assist passengers who needed to change trains.
Cai Huajie, a Hunan native who works in Shenzhen, took the trip from Shenzhen to Guangzhou at 11.20am and then rushed to transfer to another train to Changsha at 12.15am. Cai was scheduled to arrive at his destination three hours later.
'It's become so efficient,' Cai said. 'I had lunch in Shenzhen and will arrive in my hometown in the afternoon. In the past, it took at least 12 hours.
'I called my wife just now and made a joke that, in the future, we can have breakfast in Changsha and shop in Hong Kong at noon.'
The high-speed rail link is a key part of Guangdong's plan to improve rail travel in the Pearl River Delta. In the next five years, it is committed to ensuring that no trip between any two cities will take more than an hour, with the railway network eventually connecting nine delta cities.
Other high-speed rail lines will connect Guangdong with Xiamen in Fujian , and Nanning in Guangxi . The high-speed line between Guangzhou and Wuhan, which opened last year, will be extended to Beijing next year.
Fast track
How a HK passenger can take the Shenzhen/Guangzhou high-speed train
1. From Lok Ma Chau take No.4 line 9 stops to Shenzhen North station.
Time: 19 min , Cost: 4 yuan
2. From Lo Wu, take No.1 Line 7 stops to Convention Centre station, change to No.4 Line, take 7 stops to the Shenzhen North .
Time: 30min , Cost: 5 yuan




New Shenzhen trains off to a speedy start