Train on new line to Meizhou departs

The G8496 high-speed train, fully packed with passengers, departed from Shenzhen North Railway Station at 11:30 a.m. yesterday, marking the operation of trains from Shenzhen to Meizhou via Meizhou-Longchuan High-Speed Railway.

Staff members serving the G8496 high-speed train for Meizhou West Railway Station pose for a group photo at Shenzhen North Railway Station. File photos

In about one hour and 46 minutes, it arrived at the Meizhou West Railway Station, cutting the trip by more than one hour compared with time via other railways. 

"It is very convenient and saves time. A few days ago, I came to Shenzhen via Chaoshan, It took more than 3 hours，but I don't need to go that way," a passenger surnamed Liu said at an interview yesterday before departure. 

Passengers experience the Meilong high-speed train. 

The 94-km Meizhou-Longchuan High Speed Railway is part of the Longyan-Longchuan High-speed Railway that links Longyan in Fujian and Longchuan in Guangdong. The 92-kilometer Longyan-Wuping section in Fujian opened Dec. 26, 2023. The Wuping-Meizhou section is currently under construction.

With three stations in Meizhou and one station in Heyuan, the Meizhou-Longchuan section connects the Meizhou-Shantou High-speed Railway at Meizhou West Station and the Ganzhou-Shenzhen High-speed Railway at Longchuan West Station.

"Shenzhen North Railway Station operates 10 trains departing and terminating at the station via the Meizhou-Longchuan High-Speed Railway. In full schedule, the station will operate 32 high-speed trains going between the station and Meizhou, Jieyang and other destinations along the Meizhou-Longyan High Speed Railway, with 26 of them originating and terminating at the station," Li Jianfang, head of the Technician Department of Shenzhen railway station yesterday. 

It was told the tickets for the trains on the first day operation had been sold out. 

According to the Guangzhou Railway Group Corp., the railway will play a significant role in integrating northeastern Guangdong into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Known as the “Hakka Capital of the World,” Meizhou is home to millions of Hakka people whose ancestors are believed to have moved from Central China to the south centuries ago. With a long history and profound accumulation of Hakka heritage, it is both the final settlement place for the Hakka who moved south and the main departure place for the Hakka who have spread across the world since the Ming and Qing dynasties.