Xiamen–Shenzhen Railway

The Xiamen–Shenzhen Railway (simplified Chinese: 厦深铁路; traditional Chinese: 廈深鐵路; pinyin: Xiàshēn Tiělù) is a dual-track, electrified, high-speed rail line under construction on the southern coast of China. The line, also known as the Xiashen Railway, is named after its two terminal cities Xiamen in Fujian Province and Shenzhen, next to Hong Kong, in Guangdong Province. The line will have a total length of 502.4 km and will form part of China's Southeast Coast High-Speed Rail Corridor.^[1] Construction began in November 23, 2007, and the line is expected to enter into operation by the end of 2011.^[1] The line is designed for trains running at top speeds of 250 kilometres per hour, and is expected shorten rail travel between Xiamen and Shenzhen from 11 hours to 3 hours.^[1]

Route

The Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway follows the rugged southern coast of China. Major cities and towns along route will include Zhangzhou, Zhao'an, Raoping, Chaoshan, Chaozhou, Shantou, Puning, Shanwei, Huidong and Huizhou.^[1]

History

The Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway is the first railway to be built on the southern coast of China. Most high-speed rail lines in China follow the routes of older conventional railroads, but there were no railways on the southeast coast prior to the building of high-speed rail. Historically, the southeast coastal region relied on maritime transportation, and rugged terrain made railway construction more expensive. In the first half of the 20th century, warfare and political instability delayed railway construction. During the Cold War, the southeast coast faced the threat of invasion from Republic of China on Taiwan and all railways were built inland. Only when political tensions across the Taiwan Strait eased in the late 1990s did planning of the Xiashen Line proceed. Construction began commenced in 2008 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

See also

• List of railways in China

References