Experts have drafted four rail line plans for a high-speed maglev track that connects Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, with Shenzhen and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The new maglev rail line is designed to reach a speed of 650 kilometers per hour, allowing passengers from Guangzhou to reach Shenzhen and Hong Kong in 30 minutes.

Chen Xiangsheng, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said, in line with the requirements of high-quality economic development and construction of a world-class bay area, it is necessary to vigorously promote the development of smart transportation and achieve convenient, efficient, safe, and economic transportation to support the construction of Guangdong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Chen made his remarks at the 36th Guangzhou Forum of Academicians in the Guangdong provincial capital over the weekend.

The main axis of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong is located in the knowledge intensive industrial corridor with the most developed economy and the highest population concentration per unit in the GBA.

"In 2017, the passenger flow density reached 109.63 million people, which had reached saturation. And by 2035, the passenger flow density on the main axis of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will rise to 260 million people, with a capacity gap of about 40 million people," said Chen,

Chen is also dean of the College of Civil and Transportation Engineering at Shenzhen University.

"Therefore, a new high-speed project is needed to meet the transportation needs of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong," he said.

Meanwhile the passenger flow connections between the centers of the main urban areas of the other 8 cities in GBA also require high-speed channels to address the issue of imbalanced and insufficient development, Chen said.

In addition to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, GBA also includes the cities of Dongguan, Foshan, Zhuhai Zhongshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in Guangdong, as well as Macao Special Administrative Region.

But Chen said whether the schemes will be implemented is not yet known and that the project's construction is still waiting for a green light from authorities.

Dozens of academicians, experts and scholars in the fields of urban transportation infrastructure attended the forum and shared and exchanged views on the design plan of the new maglev line.