The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region Intercity Railway System (, abbreviated as PRDIR) is a regional

higher-speed rail Higher-speed rail (HrSR), also known as high-performance rail, higher-performance rail, semi-high-speed rail or almost-high-speed rail, is the jargon used to describe inter-city passenger rail services that have top speeds of more than convent ...

and

suburban rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are co ...

network being gradually constructed in the

Pearl River Delta The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...

( Yuegang'ao Greater Bay Area), People's Republic of China. The project's goal is to have every major urban center in the Yuegang'ao Greater Bay Area to be within one-hour travel by rail to

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

. On March 16, 2005, the State Council approved plans for a regional high-speed commuter rail network for the

Jingjinji The Jingjinji Metropolitan Region or Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ),, sometimes rendered in historical context as King–Sin–Peh, also known as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BJ-TJ-HB), Peking–Tientsin–Hopeh and the Capital Economic Zone, is the National Cap ...

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan re ...

and the Pearl River Delta. According to the plan, by 2020, the network will have a total route mileage of about . In September 2009, the plan was expanded to of routes split up into 23 lines. In the long term vision network length will reach by 2030. By then the network will provide basic coverage to the Pearl River Delta region. The Suishen ICR, Guanhui ICR and Guangfozhao ICR accept

Alipay Alipay () is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma. In 2015, Alipay moved its headquarters to Pudong, Shanghai, although its parent compan ...

, avoiding the need to purchase tickets in advance.

Operational lines

The system currently has seven lines.

Guangzhu ICR

The Guangzhou–Zhuhai Intercity Railway or Guangzhu Intercity Railway is a 116 km dedicated, grade-separated passenger railway linking New Guangzhou Station in Panyu, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai Airport in Zhuhai, via Shunde, Zhongshan and Jiangmen. Operation began in 2011.

Guanhui ICR

The Guanhui Intercity Railway or Guanhui Urban Railway is a 14 station, 100 km long, regional rapid railway line that connects Dongguan to

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyu ...

. The line was originally planned to use subway type cars with Siemens technology. However it was plans changed partway through construction to use 8 car

CRH6 The CRH6 Hexie (simplified Chinese: 和谐号; traditional Chinese: 和諧號; pinyin: Héxié Hào; literally: "Harmony") is a regional/ commuter high-speed train of the People's Republic of China. It is designed by CRRC Qingdao Sifang and will ...

EMUs capable of running up to . The line started construction in 2009 and was expected to open in late 2013. Construction was completed in June 2013 and test runs began in 2014, but the first segment of the line, from Xiaojinkou-Changping East did not open until 30 March 2016.

Guangfozhao ICR

The Guangfozhao Intercity Railway or Fozhao Urban Railway is an 11 station long regional rapid railway line. It connects Guangzhou to

Zhaoqing Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...

, via

Foshan Foshan (, ), alternately romanized as Fatshan, is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. The entire prefecture covers and had a population of 9,498,863 as of the 2020 census. The city is part of the western side of the ...

. Operation began on 30 March 2016.

Suishen ICR

The Guangzhou–Shenzhen Intercity Railway, also known as the Suishen Intercity Railway () is a regional rapid railway line that runs roughly along the east bank of the Pearl River connecting the major cities of

, Dongguan, and

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

. It will use

EMUs with a top speed of . Operation began on 15 December 2019.

Zhuji ICR

The Zhuji Intercity Railway is a high-speed railway connecting

Gongbei Subdistrict Gongbei Subdistrict () is a township-level division situated in Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. Education QSI International School of Zhuhai previously was in Building 2B, HengXin Industry District (), Gongbei Subdistrict.< ...

in Zhuhai with

Zhuhai Jinwan Airport Zhuhai Jinwan Airport , also called Zhuhai Sanzao Airport () before January 10, 2013, is the airport serving the city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province, China. It is located some (road distance) southwest of the Zhuhai city center in Sanzao To ...

via

Hengqin Hengqin (, pt, Ilha da Montanha) is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and special economic zone in Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China. It has a population of about 3,000. Parts of Hengqin were leased to Macau ...

. Phase 1 started operation on 18 August 2020. Phase 2 from to Zhuhai Airport will open in 2023.

Guangqing ICR

Guangzhou East Ring intercity railway

Lines under construction

Foguan ICR

Foshan–Dongguan Intercity Railway, also called the Foguan Intercity Railway, is a planned high-speed railway within

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

between the cities of

, via

, to Dongguan. It will connect

Panyu District Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 200 ...

at the major Guangzhou South interchange, tunnelling under the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

through Machong and Hongmei to providing connections via the

Dongguan Rail Transit Dongguan Rail Transit or Dongguan Metro is the rapid transit system of the city of Dongguan in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Dongguan Rail Transit Corporation, Limited. The construction of the first section of L ...

, the

Guangzhou–Shenzhen intercity railway Guangzhou–Shenzhen intercity railway or Suishen intercity railway () is a commuter railway in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong, China. The construction route traces roughly along the east bank of the Pearl River, connecting Guangzhou, Do ...

or the Dongguan–Huizhou intercity railway. The length of this railway is .

Guangfo Circular ICR

Ring service around

, mostly making use of trackage from other Metropolitan Region Intercity Railway Lines and existing freight railways. A new section under construction, known as the Guangfo Link, is a 35 km long railway line that connects Guangzhou South Railway Station to

Foshan West Railway Station Foshan West railway station is a major railway station located in Nanhai District, Foshan, Guangdong, China. The station started construction on February 26, 2013 and was opened on August 18, 2017. The station serves as a gateway for conventional ...

. It has a top speed of and will use 6 car

EMUs capable of running up to 2.5-minute frequencies. It is expected to start construction in late 2012 and completed in 2016 or 2017.

Guangqing ICR

The Guangqing Intercity Railway is a high-speed railway connecting Guangzhou with

Qingyuan Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...

Approved Lines

In 2020, with the near completion of the initial batch of lines, the

National Development and Reform Commission The National Development and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China (NDRC), formerly State Planning Commission and State Development Planning Commission, is a macroeconomic management agency under the State Council, which has b ...

approved an additional 775 km of intercity railway projects. A number of them will start construction before 2022.

Shenzhen–Dayawan ICR

A planned underground

regional rail Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

way connecting

and

Huiyang District Huiyang District ( postal: Waiyeung; is a district of Huizhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It was renamed in 2003 amid the restructuring of districts and counties in Huizhou. Formerly named Huiyang city (county level), its si ...

in southern

from

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (formerly Shenzhen Huangtian Airport) is the airport serving Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. It is located on the east bank of the Pearl River near Huangtian and Fuyong villages in Bao'an District, and is ...

Shenzhen Pingshan railway station Shenzhen Pingshan railway station () is a high-speed railway station on the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway.The station is located in the Pingshan District of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China. The station opened to the public on 28 December 20 ...

Shenhui ICR

A planned underground

way connecting

and

Huicheng District Huicheng District () is a district of Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Huicheng is the northern urban center of Huizhou along with Huiyang as the southern urban center. Administrative divisions Huicheng is responsible for the administra ...

in northern

Notes

References

{{Rapid transit in the People's Republic of China Pearl River Delta Rapid transit in China Transport in Guangdong

Operational lines

Guangzhu ICR

Guanhui ICR

Guangfozhao ICR

Suishen ICR

Zhuji ICR

Guangqing ICR

Guangzhou East Ring intercity railway

Lines under construction

Foguan ICR

Guangfo Circular ICR

Guangqing ICR

Approved Lines

Shenzhen–Dayawan ICR

Shenhui ICR

See also

Notes

References