China's Guangzhou unveils 15-year rail transit development plan

GUANGZHOU - The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Thursday unveiled a 15-year development plan to build a multi-layer urban rail network, according to local authorities.

The plan was approved by the standing committee of Guangzhou's municipal committee of the Communist Party of China in December 2019, and aims at increasing rail's share of public transportation to 80 percent by 2035.

By building high-speed direct railway tracks, travel time between major cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be reduced to less than 60 minutes, the municipal bureau of planning and natural resources said.

Two new metro lines will be added, together with an east-west high-speed subway track linking downtown Guangzhou with the neighboring cities of Foshan and Dongguan.