Recently, the feasibility study report for the highly anticipated Yongzhou Qingyuan Guangzhou high-speed railway (hereinafter referred to as the "Yongqing Guangzhou high-speed railway") has entered the final stage of approval, and various preparatory work has been carried out in an orderly manner. As an important supplement to the national "Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals" high-speed railway network, this transportation artery connecting Hunan and Guangdong provinces will not only fill the gap in the high-speed railway network in southern Hunan and northern Guangdong, but also inject strong impetus into the interconnection and intercommunication between the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, the Chengdu Chongqing Economic Circle, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The Yongqing Guangzhou high-speed railway has a total length of about 390 kilometers, a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour, and an estimated total investment of over 95 billion yuan. The line starts from Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, passing through Lingling District, Lengshuitan District, Dong'an County of Yongzhou City, Lianzhou City, Yangshan County, Qingxin District, Qingcheng District of Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, and ends at Huadu District of Guangzhou City. The whole line has a total of 14 stations, including 9 new stations and 5 connecting existing stations. It is worth noting that the project passes through the core area of the Nanling Mountain Mountains, with complex geological conditions and a bridge tunnel ratio of 84.24%. Several super long tunnels and super large bridges will be built, and many engineering and technical indicators will reach the advanced level of high-speed railway construction in China.

From the perspective of functional positioning, the Yongqing Guangzhou high-speed railway is a key component of the second channel of the Beijing Guangzhou high-speed railway. After completion, it will form a "dual track parallel" pattern with the Beijing Guangzhou high-speed railway, greatly alleviating the transportation pressure of the existing Beijing Guangzhou line. At that time, the railway travel time from Yongzhou to Guangzhou will be shortened from the current 4.5 hours to within 1.5 hours, and the commuting time from Qingyuan to Guangzhou will be reduced to 30 minutes. The southern Hunan and northern Guangdong regions will fully integrate into the "1.5-hour economic circle" of the Greater Bay Area. The shortening of this time and space distance will accelerate the flow of regional factors, promote industrial transfer and coordinated development, help underdeveloped areas such as northern Guangdong and southern Hunan to undertake the spillover of industries from the Greater Bay Area, and form a new model of industrial cooperation of "research and development in the Bay Area, manufacturing along the line".

Driven by the dual values of people's livelihood and economy, the project approval process has always received high attention from all sectors of society. At present, the project has completed multiple pre-approval processes such as land pre-approval, planning and site selection, and environmental impact assessment. The feasibility study report is currently undergoing the final approval process and is expected to officially start construction in the first half of 2026 and be put into operation by 2030. During the project construction period, it will directly drive the development of upstream and downstream industries such as steel, cement, and construction machinery, creating tens of thousands of job opportunities; After its opening, it will not only facilitate the travel of millions of people along the route, but also activate characteristic industrial resources such as tourism and agriculture along the route, promote the deep integration of cultural tourism between Hunan and Guangdong, and provide solid support for the high-quality development of regional economy and society.

As a "golden channel" connecting the North South economic corridor, the construction of the Yongqing Guangzhou high-speed railway has profound significance. It is not only a transportation line, but also an economic line, livelihood line, and integration line. It will further improve the layout of high-speed rail network in southern China, strengthen the radiation and driving effect of the Greater Bay Area on inland areas, and make a significant contribution to building a unified national market and promoting regional coordinated development. Subsequently, with the smooth progress of the project, various regions along the line will plan and construct a number of industrial parks, logistics bases, and urban complexes around the high-speed rail hub, forming a virtuous cycle of "revitalizing the city with roads and promoting production with cities", making this north-south artery truly an "accelerator" that empowers regional development.Editor/Bian Wenjun