High-speed rail commuters between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland will be served with seven new stations from July 1 – the 28th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The additions will take the number of mainland destinations directly served by the city’s high-speed rail network to 96. The new stations include the popular tourist spots of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, and Furongzhen in Hunan province, as well as Shaoguan and Enping in Guangdong province.
The new stations are Enping, Furongzhen, Jingdezhenbei, Lechangdong, Xianningbei, Luohexi and Leiyangxi on five long-haul northbound and southbound routes.
READ MORE: High-speed sleeper train service ‘comfortable, convenient’
The northbound routes will depart from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, bound for Shanghai, Tianjin, Xi’an and Zhanjiang, while the southbound routes will connect Shanghai, Xi’an and Zhangjiajie with the HKSAR.
MTR Corporation, which operates the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail network, said on Monday the additional stations will offer greater flexibility for high-speed rail commuters making family visits or leisure trips in either direction.
Noting that Furongzhen and Jingdezhen are renowned mainland tourist destinations, the company said the optimized routes will also offer passengers a more convenient travel experience, with Jingdezhen a mere five-hour journey directly from Hong Kong. Enping -- a prominent ancestral hometown for many Hong Kong residents – can be reached in about two-and-a-half on the high-speed rail, with an additional 25-minute journey to Enping’s city center, cutting the travel time by more than half.
READ MORE: Shenzhen mulls Luohu North high-speed railway station
With the launch of the new routes, MTR Corp has adjusted its high-speed rail timetable, including changes to intermediate stops on certain routes, such as northbound trains serving the G306 Tianjinxi route will no longer be stopping at Kuitan Station in Jieyang city, Guangdong.
Contact the writer at amberwu@chindailyhk.com
