The proposed inter-provincial transportation system announced last year that will connect the three cities of Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou is promising to provide trips of only 60 minutes in length to commuters riding two trains under ideal circumstances.

The Guangdong Provincial Transportation Department announced its proposal up for ratification on April 11 that will unify the separate cities of the Pearl River Delta into a singular urban amalgamation. The proposal also outlines how a trip from one transportation hub to another should only take 30 minutes, and how the network will be extensive enough to allow commuters to walk to any downtown core area from a subway station in just 15 minutes.

Scheduled to be completed in 2030, the ambitious plan will see Shenzhen establish two subway lines to Huizhou, and another three to Dongguan.  The entire subway network will consist of three north-south lines, four east-west lines, and a subsidiary line in addition to new road and railway network that would see commuters travelling from Guangzhou to Hong Kong in one hour’s time.

Things do sound good in theory, though we’ve seen that things put into practice aren’t as ideal. The Shenzhen-Xiamen high-speed rail which broke down in a tunnel recently was touted to last only three hours, whereas it now journeys for four. Still, commuters are able at present to enjoy features like surfing free internet to pass the time as others drop the gloves, their civility  or a diamond deuce.

Photo: Nandu