SHENZHEN rail construction office is working on the feasibility of linking the intercity rails with Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint Transport Terminal, where Metro Line 13 is under construction.

The office said it is working with the city’s planning and transport bureaus on the construction plan of Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint Transport Terminal.

Under the plan, the authorities are considering further extending the Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen Intercity Rail and Shenzhen-Dongguan-Zengcheng (Guangzhou) Intercity Rail to Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint, the only land checkpoint in the western part of the city.

The Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen Intercity Rail now ends at Qianhai and the authority plans to extend it to Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base. The Shenzhen-Dongguan-Zengcheng (Guangzhou) Intercity Rail was originally planned to end at Xili in northern Nanshan and is now being considered to extend to Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base.

Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint is about 3 kilometers south of Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base.

At the annual session of the city’s legislature, six lawmakers including Wang Xiyun suggested extending the two intercity rails to Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint. Wang said it was strategically important for the regional development of the western part of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

“The present bus service and transport facilities at the Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint can’t handle the increasing number of travelers between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and traffic congestion is worsening with the development of the checkpoint area even though measures have been taken to improve the situation,” said Wang.

At present, travelers from Guangzhou and Dongguan make up 21 percent of the mainland residents crossing the border through the checkpoint.

Metro Line 13, which will be connected with Dongguan Metro in the future, will increase traveler and vehicle flows through the checkpoint after it is put into operation.

The connection of the intercity rails with the checkpoint is expected to relieve congestion, improve the capacity of the checkpoint terminal and serve travelers from the western part of Shenzhen and the other Pearl River Delta cities.

At present, the city is working to revise the regional planning of the Pearl River Intercity Rail Network. (Han Ximin)