Road, rail links to draw regions closer together

An integrated transport network will get a major boost in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area this year as regional authorities seek to improve coordination.

The high-speed rail line between Beijing and Tianjin only takes 30 minutes. But transport linking Hebei to the two municipalities have room to improve.

That situation is set to change this year. A freeway connecting Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei, to Tianjin is now being built.

Also being built this year are multiple freeways and high-speed rail links, cutting the travel time between Hebei and Beijing or Tianjin to about an hour, transport authorities in Hebei says.

"The transport network between Hebei and Tianjin has the potential to expand," says Hebei Governor Zhang Qingwei. "The high-speed railway between Shijiazhuang and Tianjin will be completed in 2015."

Tianjin Mayor Huang Xingguo says that high-speed rail and road links between Hebei and Tianjin will boost development and increase cooperation.

A convenient transport network will benefit residents in the region.

Zhang Yuxin, 24, a native of Shijiazhuang, graduated from the Tianjin University of Science and Technology in 2012 and found a good job in Tianjin.

However, she quit after four months and moved to Shijiazhuang to be near her family.

"It's not the best career choice," she says. "For a public relations associate, Tianjin offers more opportunities. In addition, many of my college friends are in Tianjin, so being there would expand my professional network.

"But my parents want me near them," she says. Commuting from Shijiazhuang to Tianjin takes at least four hours by train or freeway.

"If there is a high-speed train between Shijiazhuang and Tianjin, similar to the one between Beijing and Tianjin, I could look after my career and my family at the same time," Zhang says.

Construction is just about to start on a high-speed railway connecting Beijing and cities in Hebei to the north of Beijing, such as Chengde and Zhangjiakou.

Xing Guohui, Party chief of Zhangjiakou, says the high-speed railway will take passengers from Beijing to Zhangjiakou in an hour. The convenient transport could increase China's chances of getting the Olympic Games in of 2022, he says.

Beijing and Hebei signed an agreement last May listing major areas of cooperation for the subsequent two years, including the transfer of certain industries from the capital to the province.

The expansion of the high-speed rail network is a priority item on the agenda.

The high-speed railway has had a station at Shijiazhuang airport, the largest airport in Hebei, since last year. That has allowed many Beijing-based travelers to use that airport.

The railway connects the airport to Beijing in 90 minutes. A second-class ticket costs 111 yuan ($18).

Contact the writers at luowangshu@chinadaily.com.cn and zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 03/21/2014 page14)