Largest Underground Train Station in Asia Opens for Travelers

China recently opened Futian Station, which became the second largest underground railway station in the world! Located just North of Hong Kong in downtown Shenzhen, Futian is the latest achievement along China’s rail network.

Futian Station is the size of 21 football fields, has 8 high-speed platforms and is served by local metro lines with provisions for a future airport rail link. The station began service with 11 daily trips to Guangzhou South on December 29th.

This new piece of the network directly connects Beijing all the way to the southern border of China. It is also an important milestone towards completing the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. The final phase, connecting Shenzhen to Hong Kong, is planned for completion in the second half of 2018. Once it is finished Hong Kong will finally be connected to China’s mainland through high-speed rail.

The trip will be around an hour and will begin with 12 trains each day. The service will connect to the world’s longest high-speed rail line from Guangzhou-Beijing, which stretches 1,428 miles and takes about 8 hours to travel. The completion of this final phase will create a single high-speed rail line from Hong Kong-Beijing that cuts the current travel time from 24 to just 9 hours.

Best,

Dylan Hayward
Manager of Communications

Last Week at MHSRA:

Thank you to all of our members who helped us meet and surpass our goal of $18,000 this December! With your encouragement we will continue advocating for faster, more frequent and dependable train service in 2016.

Articles:

Asia’s Largest Underground Railway Station Opens for Business
“The opening of Futian, is another landmark in the completion of the Guangzhou-Shenzen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.”

Arthur Koster: Millenials will Ride High-Speed Rail
“If we want to provide a foundation for a stable economy for the millennial generation and those after, we must invest in infrastructure projects that will provide just that.”

Detroit Connection to Speed Passenger Services
“Amtrak’s Wolverine passenger trains between Chicago and Detroit have begun using a new curve at West Detroit Junction, which has been built in conjunction with the upgrading and double-tracking of the former NS route now owned by Michigan Department of Transportation.”

Texas High-Speed Rail Firm Eyes JR Tokay as Partner in Shinkansen Technology
“Texas Central Partners LLC, a U.S. company aiming to build a high-speed rail link in the state, is envisaging Japanese companies potentially providing vehicles and technologies for its planned bullet train service connecting Dallas and Houston.”

Officials Pushing to Return Passenger Rail to Gulf Coast
“A multistate rail agency is asking Amtrak to return passenger trains to the Gulf Coast a decade after it canceled service in wake of Hurricane Katrina.”

Upcoming Events:

Japan High-Speed Rail Tour

We are planning the tour for October of 2016.

This trip will give everyone an opportunity to enjoy the rich history of train travel the country offers. We are creating an itinerary that includes riding the first high-speed rail line, visiting at least one railroad museum and meetings with experts in the field. We have already begun making contacts to arrange technical visits and train tours. Once we have received 10 fully-refundable deposits we will finalize the details of the trip.



Please click here if you would like to learn more or are interested in joining the trip.



Please click here if you are ready to make a $500 fully-refundable deposit for the trip.

Dylan Hayward
Midwest High Speed Rail Association
4765 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-334-6758