Guangzhou mayor Chen Jianhua gets reality check on subway to Shenzhen

Guangzhou mayor Chen Jianhua was left red-faced yesterday after Shenzhen's railway-construction office denied his claim that it would be possible to link the two cities with a subway charging just 14 yuan (HK$17) a ticket.

Chen had urged Guangzhou's transportation authorities to strengthen links between Guangzhou and neighbouring cities including Foshan , Zhaoqing , Qingyuan , Dongguan and Huizhou , The Southern Metropolis News reported yesterday.

"In a new wave of railway planning and construction, passengers in Guangzhou should be able to reach neighbouring cities by underground," Chen was quoted as saying.

"I think a single journey from Guangzhou to Dongguan should be around 6 yuan, while 14 yuan can take you from Guangzhou to Shenzhen's city centre."

When asked whether his plan was too good to be true, with a single journey from Guangzhou to Shenzhen now costing 80 yuan by high-speed train and 60 yuan by coach, Chen said he was worried that no one would ride such expensive trains.

An official from Shenzhen's Rail Transit Construction Headquarters Office said yesterday that Chen's plan was "unfeasible", and questioned whether the mayor had mixed up the concepts of underground and intercity railways.