********************************************************
The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, and the Vice Minister of Railways, Mr Lu Dongfu, signed a memorandum of understanding on the technical arrangement for connecting the Mainland and Hong Kong sections of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Railway Link (XRL), following an in-depth discussion today (February 24) on preparatory work for the connection and operation.
Under the memorandum, the Ministry of Railways will continue to enhance communication with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to meet the target of commencing construction of the Hong Kong section by the end of 2009 and for the subsequent implementation of the project. A detailed technical plan, based on previous consensus of the two sides on the technical aspects of the integration of the XRL Shenzhen and Hong Kong sections, has also been devised. Relevant parties will continue to work on the implementation details, including further discussions on the operation and maintenance arrangements.
The XRL will run from West Kowloon in Hong Kong to Shibi in Guangzhou, with intermediate stations at Futian and Longhua in Shenzhen and Humen in Dongguan. Connected with the Beijing-Guangzhou Passenger Line and the Hangzhou-Fuzhou-Shenzhen Passenger Line, the project will integrate Hong Kong into the Mainlandˇ¦s rapidly growing express rail network. Furthermore, through connection with the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Rapid Transit System, it will greatly increase accessibility between Hong Kong and the PRD region.
The Hong Kong section will see a maximum train speed of 200km per hour. Upon completion of the XRL, the travelling time between Hong Kong and Guangzhou will be shortened to 48 minutes. Commuters from Hong Kong will be able to reach other Mainland cities like Changsha and Xiamen in four hours, and Wuhan and Fuzhou in five hours. The travelling time from Hong Kong to Shanghai will be eight hours, and from Hong Kong to Beijing will be 10 hours. Hong Kong's position as the business centre of the PRD and the gateway to the Mainland will be further enhanced.
It is estimated that the XRL will carry about 100,000 passengers daily in 2020 and 120,000 passengers in 2030, generating an economic benefit of $83 billion over the next 50 years in terms of travelling time saved.
The rail project will create 5,500 jobs during construction and another 10,000 during its operation. Works are expected to start at the end of 2009 and be completed in or before 2015.
Ends/Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Issued at HKT 19:13
NNNN