湛海高铁预计今年开工，海南将融入“全国高铁网”
Construction of Hainan-Guangdong railway to start in 2019
2019-03-19 13:50:01 Global Times Editor : Li Yan
South China's Hainan Province plans to build a rail link with South China's Guangdong Province, which a Chinese analyst said will provide opportunities for economic development for cities along the line.
The railway is to connect Haikou, the capital of Hainan, and Zhanjiang, Guangdong, according to a report by local newspaper Haikou Daily over the weekend.
The line can significantly improve communication between Hainan and other provinces.
According to the report, an evaluation committee set up by China Railway Co met from January 14-18 for a feasibility study. Xie Jing, manager of the Hainan Development Holdings Co as well as a member of the National Committee of the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said during this year's two sessions that the feasibility study report is being compiled, and the project should not run into any obstacles in terms of technology.
According to a report by soho.com, the railway is about 130 kilometers long and will cost 14.4 billion yuan ($2.15 billion)
Previously, the only means of getting to and from Hainan were planes and ferries, which are costly and highly susceptible to weather conditions.
The province experiences of heavy passenger volume, especially at some times of the year. According to a report by chinanews.com in March, during this year's Spring Festival holidays, up to 10.36 million people traveled to and from the island, but flights were suspended 10 times due to heavy fog.
Similar conditions occurred during last year's spring festival, when foggy weather that lasted seven days led to thousands of passengers and vehicles being held up at the ports.
Zhao Jian, an expert on the railway industry at Beijing Jiaotong University, told the Global Times that the new line will ease the pressure on ferries and planes. It will also help develop cities along the line, which can enjoy a synergy effect created by the transportation network being built up in the Hong Kong-Guangdong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
"Similar to the railway along the Hong Kong-Guangdong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the most important aspect of the new railway is to connect major cities and facilitate communication and economic development," Zhao said.
For Hainan, the railway can also decrease the cost of freight transport and make it more convenient, he said, meaning smoother transportation and movement of goods and people, which is vital to economic development.
The railway's construction still faces challenges concerning collaboration among multiple departments, including different administrations from different provinces, Xie was quoted as saying in the Haikou Daily report.
Zhao also mentioned some challenges the railway may face in terms of operation.
"Unlike the Hong Kong-Guangdong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the economy around Hainan is not as robust, which means the market is not as mature and it will be costly for the local government to run the railway," Zhao told the Global Times.
"That's especially so because the number of passengers travelling in and out of the island can vary greatly depending on the season. Most visitors go to Hainan during the winter. This, too, can pose some challenges to the railway's operation and maintenance."
http://www.ecns.cn/business/2019-03-19/detail-ifzfmzhu2193553.shtml
