We are mainly engaged in passenger and freight transportation businesses on the
Shenzhen-Guangzhou-Pingshi
Railway, which is 481.2 kilometers long, running vertically through Guangdong Province. The
Guangzhou-Pingshi
Railway is the southern part of Beijing-Guangzhou Railway, which connects Northern China with Southern China. The
Guangzhou-Shenzhen
Railway is strategically located and links with major railway networks in China, including the Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Kowloon, Sanshui-Maoming, Pinghu-Nantou, and Pinghu-Yantian lines, as well as with the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway,
Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen
Intercity Railway and the East Rail Line in Hong Kong, which form integral components of the transportation network in the PRC.
Passenger transportation is our principal business, which includes the transportation businesses of
Guangzhou-Shenzhen
intercity trains (including Guangzhou East to
Chaozhou-Shantou
cross-network EMU trains), long-distance trains and Hong Kong Through Trains. We have adopted an
operating model by dispatching one pair of our domestically manufactured electric multiple units trains, known as “China Railway High-Speed trains” or “CRHs,” every 10 minutes on average during peak hours between Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The through-trains passing Hong Kong jointly operated by us and the MTR Corporation Limited (“MTR”) are one of the most important means of transportation between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. We have organized and operated a number of long-distance trains running from and to Guangzhou and Shenzhen that linked with most of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipals across the nation.
Freight transportation is another important segment of our transportation business. We are well equipped with comprehensive freight facilities and are able to efficiently transport full load cargo, single load cargo, containers, bulky and overweight cargo, dangerous cargo, fresh and live cargo, and oversized cargo. Our rail lines operated are closely knitted with the major ports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen and are connected to several large industrial zones, logistics zones, and plants and mines in the Pearl River Delta region via railroad sidings. The major market of our freight transportation business is domestic
mid-to
long-distance transportation, which is a market segment in which we enjoy competitive advantages.
We have extended our passenger and freight transportation business to include railway operation services with the commencement of Wuhan- Guangzhou Passenger Railway Line in December 2009. As of the date of this annual report, we have provided such services to Wuhan-Guangzhou Passenger Railway Line Co., Ltd., Guangdong Guangzhu Intercity Rail Transportation Company Limited,
Kong Express Rail Link Company Limited,
Guangzhou-Zhuhai
Railway Company Limited, Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway (Guangdong) Company Limited,
Ganzhou-Shaoguan
Railway Company Limited, Nanning-Guangzhou Railway Company Limited, Guiyang-Guangzhou Railway Company Limited, Guangdong Pearl River Delta Intercity Railway Traffic Company Limited, MaoZhan Railway Company Limited, Guangdong Shenmao Railway Company Limited and Guangdong
Meizhou-Shantou
Passenger Railway Line Company Limited. With the successful completion and commencement of operation of a series of high-speed railways and intercity railways in the “Pan Pearl River Delta,” our geographical coverage of railway operation service will be more extensive.
In 2021, our operations, especially the passenger transportation business, continued to be impacted by the
COVID-19
pandemic, although to a lesser degree than 2020, and we recorded a passenger delivery volume of 40,778,226 people, representing a
decline of 4.84%, while our freight delivery volume amounted to 18,836,519 tonnes, representing a
increase of 15.75%. Additionally, we recorded an operating revenue of RMB20.21 billion, representing a
increase of 23.6%; consolidated loss attributable to shareholders amounted to RMB973.12 million, representing a
decline of 74.4%; and our basic losses per share amounted to RMB0.14.
2021 is the first year of the Chinese government’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Although there are still many uncertainties in light of the
COVID-19
pandemic and the external environment, China’s economy has returned to normal, and the market demand of the national railway passenger and freight transportation is gradually picking up. We will seize the opportunities, follow the government’s new development philosophy and keep actively in line with the key national strategies such as the “Belt and Road” initiative, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Shenzhen Pilot Demonstration Zone. Further, we will promote the structural reforms on the supply side of railway transportation, strengthen cost control, continue to improve transportation service quality and operation and management level, and comprehensively promote the Company to achieve the development of higher safety, higher quality, greater efficiency and stronger sustainability and security.
Background, Restructuring and Acquisition
The railroad system between Guangzhou and Shenzhen was part of the original “Canton-Kowloon” railroad, which began operations in 1911. In 1949, following the establishment of the PRC, the railroad was divided into two sections, with the first linking Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and the second, across the Hong Kong border and separately owned, linking Luohu and the Kowloon peninsula in Hong Kong. The Guangzhou to Shenzhen railroad has been operated since 1949 by a
sub-division
of the Guangzhou Railway Bureau, a predecessor to GRGC.