The 180.8-kilometer long Canton-Kowloon Railway between Guangzhou and Kowloon, Hong Kong began construction in 1907. The railroad between Guangzhou and Shenzhen is called “Guangshen Railway”, which is 147.3 kilometers long; the section between Luohu Bridge and Kowloon, which is 33.5. kilometers long, belongs to MTR Corporation Ltd in Hong Kong. Canton-Kowloon Railway, linking with Beijing-Guangzhou Line, is the only railway channel connecting Hong Kong with inland China.

On January 1, 1984, the Guangshen Railway was separated from Guangzhou Railway Sub-administration under the former Guangzhou Railway Administration, and Guangshen Railway Company was formed pursuant to the approval of the State Council, under the direct control of Guangzhou Railway Administration. On February 8, 1993, Guangzhou Railway Administration was renamed as Guangzhou Railway (Group) Company and Guangshen Railway Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group Company.  

In 1994, Guangshen Railway Company was designated as one of 22 pilot companies nationwide for shareholding restructuring. After two years of shareholding restructuring, Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established as the first joint-stock railway company in China on April 9, 1996. The shares of the Company were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on May 13 and May 14 of the same year, respectively, raising a fund totaling RMB4,212,000,000, net.

At the end of 1987, the second line was completed and began operation. In 1991, Guangshen Railway Company began the construction of a semi- high-speed rail line. Commercial operation of the high-speed trains commenced in December 1994. In September 2000, Guangshen Railway became the first electrified and wholly-closed railway with three lines in the PRC. 

On December 22, 2006, our A shares were listed for trading on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Approximately 2.75 billion A shares were issued at RMB3.76 per share in the IPO, raising a fund of RMB10.3 billion, which was used for the acquisition of the passenger and freight transportation assets and businesses of the Guangzhou-Pingshi Railway under our parent company on January 1, 2007. Subsequent to the acquisition, the operating distance of the Company was extended from 152 kilometers to 481.2 kilometers, traversing the whole Guangdong Province vertically, and the service territory expanded from a regional railway to the state trunk railway networks.

On April 18, 2007, Line Ⅰ and Line Ⅱ of Guangshen Railway became the first passenger-dedicated lines nationwide for the “As-frequent-as Bus” operating model. In addition, after the completion of Line Ⅳ, Guangshen Railway became the first railway with four parallel lines in the PRC that allows passenger trains and freight trains to run on separate lines.

On February 20, 2009, Guangshen Railway introduced Guangshen Railway Peony Credit Card in cooperation with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. On March 20, Guangshen Railway put out Guangshen Railway Express Value Card. Thanks to the issue of these cards, passengers now can check in by card without queuing up to purchase tickets, and the “As-frequent-as-buses” operation model of Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity express trains was further improved.

Since May 1, 2009, the CRH trains between Guangzhou and Shenzhen have adopted a new operation model where the trains stop at each intermediate station. This is another important move of Guangshen Railway to optimize transportation capacity and ameliorate services in its efforts to perfect the “As-frequent-as-buses” operation model.