A proposed railway is promising to allow commuters to travel from Guangzhou South Railway Station to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in just 35 minutes.

Announced yesterday in a move to strengthen transportation links between the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan, the new railway line will allow trains to travel at a maximum 200 km/h and will have a total length of 59.44 km.

The new line is planned to have 11 stations including stops in Dashi, Lijiao, Pazhou Convention Center, Tianhe Passenger Terminal, Taihe, Zhuliao, before finally terminating at Guangzhou airport terminals 1, 2 and 3.

While the groundbreaking ceremony to build the new T2 took place back in Aug, 2012, no building date has been confirmed for terminal 3.

It currently takes commuters over an hour to reach the airport from Guangzhou South Railway Station. Commuters need to travel on Line 2 for a total of 23 stops, and then transfer to Line 3 and travel an additional three stops.

Ultimately, the plan is to connect the transportation hubs of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the Guangzhou South Railway Station, Guangzhou North Railway Station, and Foshan West Railway Station. This route will be have a total length of 158 km, and consist of 14 stations.

The government is currently accepting bids for the construction process.

In other transportation infrastructure news, a proposal to widen the Guangzhou Bridge has been approved. The plan will see the bridge increased from six to ten lanes, and should facilitate traffic to move at a maximum speed of 60km/h. As well, noise barriers will be built for the 237 nearby communities currently affected by noise from the traffic.

And now, the bad news: the construction is expected to last two years.

Photo: iMetro