The engineering and the design plans for the first phase of the long-awaited Shenzhen-Shantou railway project were approved on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, respectively.

The announcement means that the construction of the 126-kilometer railway, which is positioned as a key development for strengthening the cooperation between the two cities and a boon for Shenzhen, can now begin.

Following its projected completion in projected, the railway will shorten travel time between downtown Shenzhen and the Shenzhen-Shantou cooperation zone to approximately 30 minutes.

The trains are designed to operate at 350 km per hour and will stop at six stations along the Shenzhen-Shantou route: Xili, Luohu North, Pingshan, Huizhou South, Huidong, and Shenshan.

The railway will be linked to Guangzhou-Shanwei railway, connecting the Pearl River Delta with the economic zone to the west of the Taiwan Strait, as well as the Yangtze River Delta.