The groundbreaking ceremony of the Wanqingsha-Xingzhong section of the intercity railway between Nansha, Guangzhou and Zhuhai (Zhongshan), or Nanzhuzhong Intercity Railway, was held concurrently at the construction sites of Xiangshan Station in Zhongshan and Shichong Station in Guangzhou on March 30.

As the first intercity railway independently constructed by Zhongshan, it marks the start of a new-round rail transit construction of the city. Upon its completion, the travel time between downtown Zhongshan and downtown Guangzhou will be only 45 minutes.

The proposed line starts from the existing Wanqingsha Station in Nansha District, Guangzhou, and ends at Xingzhong Station in Zhongshan. With a designed speed of 160 km/h, the main part stretches 47.6 kilometers, including 28.5 kilometers in Zhongshan.

There will be 12 new stations on the line, and there will be 9 stations in Zhongshan, namely Xiangshan, Torch East, Torch, Zhangjiabian, Zhongshan, Qijiang New Town, Shiji Road, Shiqi and Xingzhong. Torch East and Shiji Road stations are reserved for future new station construction.

The total construction period is 56 months, and the total investment is 30.559 billion yuan.

Together with the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge to open to traffic and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Intercity Railway under planning, the Nanzhuzhong Intercity Railway will promote the integratuve development of Zhongshan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.