A high-speed maglev rail project linking Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong is under consideration, aiming to revolutionize travel in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), a transport expert said Saturday.

The proposed maglev system will boast a designed speed of 650 kilometers per hour, according to Chen Xiangsheng, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the dean of the College of Civil and Transportation Engineering at Shenzhen University. The plan aims to establish a 30-minute traffic circle among the three cities, and a 40-minute circle among other cities of the GBA. The passenger flow along the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong axis is expected to reach 260 million by 2035, thus a new high-speed project is necessary to the region, Chen said.

Four route options have been proposed for the high-speed maglev rail line, the academician said.

The first route option starts from Guangzhou East Railway Station and ends at Xiangmihu in Shenzhen via Guancheng in Dongguan. The second route option starts from Guangzhou East Railway Station and ends in Qianhai via Humen. The other two options end in Qianhai via Nansha in Guangzhou. All route options are designed to eventually extend southward to link with Hong Kong in the future.

According to Chen, the first route is the preferred choice, although its feasibility for implementation remains uncertain. He added that similar high-speed maglev train projects are being contemplated in other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Chongqing.