HONG KONG – Daily passenger trips on the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) climbed steadily in 2026, averaging over 90,000 up to April, outstripping the 2025 average of 80,000.

Ridership surges sharply on weekends and public holidays, routinely exceeding 100,000 trips a day, according to statistics from the MTR Corporation Limited.

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In 2026, the single-day patronage of the XRL hit a record high twice since its commissioning on two occasions, notching 145,800 passenger trips on Feb 19, the third day of the Chinese New Year, and 148,700 passenger trips on April 4, during the Easter and Qingming Festival holidays.

Mable Chan, secretary for transport and logistics of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that the MTR Corporation Limited keeps reviewing and upgrading facilities at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station.

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Chan said the HKSAR government is actively discussing with the MTR Corporation Limited and relevant Chinese mainland authorities to take forward operational and supporting arrangements for shops under the framework of the station's "co-location arrangement," so as to continuously enhance the MTR Corporation Limited's services.

The Hong Kong section commenced operations on Sept 23, 2018, connecting to the national high-speed rail network, which currently spans over 50,000 km. Since January 2026, the number of Chinese mainland destinations directly accessible from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station has risen from 44 upon opening to 110 at present.

In 2025, annual patronage of the Hong Kong section topped over 30 million passenger trips, with cumulative patronage exceeding 100 million passenger trips to date.