The Pearl River Delta is shrinking.

The prized piece of a transportation puzzle in the PRD could be put in place by the end of this year, when the high speed rail link connecting Guangzhou and Shenzhen is expected to open.

The Shenzhen Daily has a story noting that after delays, it looks like the testing phase of the new rail line is in the home stretch with an official opening expected by the end of the year:

A test run on the section, which was suspended Oct. 26, resumed Sunday, the city railway administration said.

Some experts said on microblog that the opening date for the section was scheduled for Dec. 8, but this was denied by an unidentified rail official from the Guangshen Railway Group.

According to a press conference in March, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the line would open before the Universiade. It had a test run July 26 but the opening was postponed after the rail crash in Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province on July 23.

The reason for the suspension of the Oct. 26 test was not revealed, the newspaper said.

The crash in Wenzhou poured cold water on the entire high-speed rail network in China, so that would possibly explain why the line has been delayed.  One would think engineers are being extra careful to ensure the line’s safety before shuttling people between the cities at 250 km/hr.

When it does officially open, it will take only 25 minutes to travel between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, theoretically making it possible to live in one city and work in the other (if that’s your kind of thing).  Twenty-five minutes is shorter than most people’s daily commute within the same city.