Shenzhen residents will be able to take high-speed trains to Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, after Shenzhen North Railway Station opens Aug 10.

It will take only 25 minutes from Shenzhen to Guangzhou along the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section and less than five hours to Wuhan on the Guangzhou-Wuhan section. It now takes 13 hours by train from Shenzhen to Wuhan.

After the opening of the high-speed line between Beijing and Wuhan at the end of this year, it will take only eight hours from Shenzhen to Beijing, according to Li Youyi, vice chief of the Shenzhen rail construction office.

Li said trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen were trialed at 380 kilometers per hour and after the high-speed rail opens, trains would be controlled at 300 kilometers per hour.

When the section linking Hong Kong is completed at the end of 2014, it will take 16 minutes from Shenzhen to West Kowloon.

Initially, 50 trains a day will run from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, Changsha and Wuhan.

Shenzhen North Railway Station will also be the transport hub for high-speed trains from Shenzhen to Xiamen in Fujian Province.