Asia's largest underground railway station to open in China

BEIJING: Asia's largest underground railway station, as large as 21 football fields, will open on Wednesday in China's southern city of Shenzhen, slashing the travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong to half an hour.

Covering an area of 147,000 square meters, the three- storey Futian High-speed Railway Station is also the world's second largest underground railway station, only after the Grand Central Station in New York, the US.

As large as 21 football fields, the station's three underground floors are installed with more than 1,200 seats, allowing 3,000 passengers to wait simultaneously, according to Guangzhou Railway Corporation which operates the station.

The travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong will be slashed to half an hour. Residents in Shenzhen only need 15 minutes to go to Hong Kong, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the operation table, there will be 11 pairs of high-speed trains running in and out of the station from Wednesday to January 9. Another 12 pairs will be added to the schedule from January 10.