Opinion | A shot in the arm for Hong Kong high-speed rail travel

Comfort and convenience are what makes high-speed rail travel competitive and appealing. Hongkongers have had a taste of that since the commissioning in 2018 of the local 26km (16 mile) section linking with the 40,000km national rail network. The increasingly popular mode of cross-border transportation is further reinforcing its services, including overnight sleeper trains to Beijing and Shanghai for the first time.

Hopefully, it will open new frontiers for tourism and business development.

It is good to hear that the travel time could be halved when the previous through trains running between Hung Hom in Hong Kong and the two mainland cities are replaced by high-speed services with sleeper coaches from the West Kowloon station starting from June 15. The journey to Beijing West station will only take about 12½ hours; and to Shanghai Hongqiao station 11 hours and 14 minutes, compared to the previous 24½ hours and 19½ hours, respectively.

Also available is a new service to Hunan province, covering Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang Ancient Town and other popular travel destinations. The sleeper trains, available from Friday to Monday, provide more options than the current daytime services to Beijing and Shanghai, which take about 8½ and 8 hours, respectively.

In addition to the advantage of a one-stop joint customs clearance at West Kowloon station, passengers can arrive at their destination early in the morning and save on hotel costs.

The city’s high-speed rail development has come a long way. Over the past two decades, the funding approval for the construction project and the controversies over the ballooning costs and joint customs clearance have fuelled much political disputes and even mass protests.

Today, few would say it is a mere white elephant. As many as 19.65 million passenger trips were made in 2023.

The daily frequency has also increased from 166 train trips before the epidemic to no fewer than 200 trips now, reaching some 78 destinations. The services should continue to be strengthened as more citizens in various cities can visit Hong Kong under the expanding individual visit scheme.

This will also enable Hongkongers to venture out to more mainland cities and achieve a win-win situation.