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Asia's largest underground railway station opens in Shenzhen

Xinhua, December 30, 2015 Adjust font size:

Asia's largest underground railway station opened on Wednesday in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, launching high-speed rail service between Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

The new line slashes travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong to half an hour.

The Futian High-speed Railway Station in downtown Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, covers a total area of 147,000 square meters, or about the size of 21 football fields.

Its three underground floors have seating for 3,000 passengers, according to Guangzhou Railway Corporation, which operates the station.

The travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong takes about two hours by ordinary train. The high-speed track slashes the travel time to half an hour. Residents in Shenzhen, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, can reach Hong Kong in 15 minutes.

According to the train timetable, there will be 11 pairs of high-speed trains between the Futian Station and Guangzhou South Station each day from Wednesday to Jan. 9. Another 12 round trips will be added to the schedule every day starting Jan. 10.

Xue Weihe, a local railway official, said the daily passenger flow through the station is expected to be 10,000 on average during the initial period. Endi