Helen Deng

    Deng.hneng@gmail.com

    MS. LIU was smiling on the new express train from Pingshan New Area to Shenzhen North Railway Station yesterday.

    “I’m so happy,” said Liu, who recently bought a home in Pingshan. She was trying out the Pingshan Line on its opening day.

    The new rail connection makes the trip from her home in Zhao-shang Garden in Pingshan to Shenzhen North station much easier.

    Liu’s hour-long drive from her office in Longhua to her home in Pingshan has been replaced with a 20-minute train ride.

    Pingshan is located in eastern Shenzhen, but until the new rail line opened it was difficult to travel to downtown Shenzhen.

    The Pingshan Line is part of the Xiamen-Shenzhen High-speed Railway. Yesterday, 12 pairs of express trains began running between Pingshan New Area, which has no Metro link, and Shenzhen North Railway Station, a transportation hub with connections to downtown Shenzhen.

    A second-class seat costs 10 yuan (US$1.57) and a first-class seat costs 13 yuan. A VIP seat costs 32 yuan. “It’s much cheaper than driving,” said Liu.

    Traffic has long been a headache for residents of Pingshan, who have to drive more than one hour for a trip to Shenzhen’s downtown.

    during rush hours. Riding a bus takes about two hours.

    Liu, who bought her apartment half a year ago, has already seen the value of her home double.

    “I’m sure that the housing prices will rise to above 30,000 yuan per square meter,” said Liu.

    Among the passengers on C6801 was Liu Hong, a new graduate who just took a job at a Pingshan company.

    “I feel very lucky,” said Liu, who almost declined the job offer after the interview because she felt Pingshan was too far away. “But after I heard that there would be trains to Pingshan, I said, ‘OK, I’ll take it,’” she said.

    Liu, who now lives in Futian, took Metro Line 4 to Shenzhen North Railway Station before taking the express train to Pingshan.

    Shenzhen North Railway Station has set aside a waiting room for those riding to Pingshan. Passengers can enter the waiting room via a separate entry and avoid queuing at the main entrance of the train station.

    From Pingshan, the trains depart between 6:40 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. From Shenzhen North station, the trains depart between 7:30 a.m. and 9:06 p.m. The trains can handle 14,000 passengers a day.

    Trains from Pingshan Station to Futian will also open after the Futian Station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-speed Railway is put into operation.

    To help Pingshan residents commute to Pingshan Station, Pingshan New Area has assigned four more express bus lines linking the train station to other places in Pingshan. Eleven bus lines are already running between Pingshan Station and other places in Pingshan.