A design sketch shows a high-speed maglev train that will be able to reach 600 kilometers per hour. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Two new magnetic levitation railroads may be planned in Guangzhou to connect Shanghai and Beijing, and cut the travel time to the two cities by half to about three hours, according to the Territorial Spatial Planning of Guangdong (2020-2035) released by the provincial Department of Natural Resources recently.

The two high-speed maglev railroads are Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao high-speed maglev line (京港澳高速磁悬浮) and Shanghai (Shenzhen)-Guangzhou high speed maglev line (沪（深）广高速磁悬浮).

The south-north Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao high-speed maglev route is anticipated to pass through Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Shaoguan cities within Guangdong province, while the Shanghai (Shenzhen)-Guangzhou line is expected to run through Shanghai, Shanwei, Shenzhen and Guangzhou cities. The two lines may converge in Guangzhou.

With trains traveling at a speed of some 600 kilometers per hour, if these two maglev lines are made reality, Shanghai will be a mere 3-hour ride away from Guangzhou, and Beijing 3.3 hours away, less than half the travel time via the current high-speed railway network.

At present, spaces have been set aside for the possible construction of six important traffic arteries in Guangdong, including the Qiongzhou Strait Channel (琼州海峡通道); Northern Guangdong-Coastal Economic Belt High-speed Rail (粤北至沿海经济带高快速铁路); High-speed Rail of Northern Guangdong Ecological Development Zone (北部生态发展区高快速铁路); Coastal High-speed Rail in Eastern-Western Guangdong (粤东至粤西沿海高铁); and the two meglev lines. They are proposed and under research as part of Guangdong and Guangzhou’s efforts to build a two-hour traffic circle within the province and with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, and a three-hour traffic circle with major Chinese and Southeast Asian cities.

Author & editor: Becky