The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High-Speed Railway is poised to become the busiest in China with a new timetable taking effect on January 26.

Under the updated schedule, 52 new services will be introduced, increasing the total number of daily passenger trains to 415. During peak hours, trains will depart on average every two minutes, with a capacity of up to 30 trains per hour.

The new timetable also expands cross-border travel options, adding direct high-speed rail links from Hong Kong to mainland cities such as Nanjing and Wuxi in Jiangsu province, and Hefei in Anhui. Consequently, the number of mainland stations offering direct services to Hong Kong will rise to 110.

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Demonstrating its current strength, the railway transported over 1.017 million cross-border passengers between January 1 and 12, 2026, driven by business travelers, commuters, and tourists. Passengers traveling between Shenzhen and Hong Kong accounted for 63 percent of this traffic.

In addition to increasing service, the new timetable optimizes the Shenzhen railway hub. Trains bound for Zhanjiang in Guangdong will now originate from Shenzhen Railway Station instead of Shenzhen North Station. Futian Station will debut direct services to Hefei and Nanchang, serving business and tourism demand from the city center and reducing congestion at Shenzhen North. Meanwhile, Shenzhen East Station will primarily handle conventional-speed passenger services.

This article is translated by China Daily from the original report in Chinese as published on the official website of Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.