Hong Kong West Kowloon – Guangzhou South & East by Express Train

HK – Guangzhou

Hong Kong – Guangzhou by High Speed Train: The Best Way

Starting from January 15 of 2023, the Hong Kong – Guangzhou express rail link has been resumed after 3 years’ Covid-19 curbs. What’s more, there are high speed train services to or from Guangzhou East Railway Station (Guangzhoudong), linking Hong Kong West Kowloon with Guangzhou’s city center directly. In the initial stage, there are 14 daily direct high speed trains. 8 trains are using Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Guangzhou South Railway Station (Guangzhounan), Journey time 50 – 70 minutes, price from CNY215. While the other 6 trains are using Hong Kong West Kowloon & Guangzhou East Railway Station (Guangzhoudong), Journey time 1h30 – 1h40, price from CNY215.

• Option 1. Hong Kong West Kowloon – Guanghou South by trains
• Option 2. Hung Hom – Guangzhou East by through trains

hongkong-guangzhou-high-speed-railway

 

Search

How far is Guangzhou from Hong Kong: the distance is about 180 kilometers or 111 miles.

High Speed Railway & Station Map

hongkong-shenzhen-guangzhou-high-speed-rail

train-station-map-guangzhou

How to Take a Train from HK West Kowloon

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong, a Singaporean working in HK & ChinaTrain12306 visitor.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong: Entrance to HK West Kowloon Station from Austin MTR Station. Passengers can get to HK West Kowloon Station by MTR by arriving at Austin Station or Kowloon Station.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong: Entrance to HK West Kowloon Station from Austin MTR Station. Passengers can get to HK West Kowloon Station by MTR by arriving at Austin Station or Kowloon Station.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Link way from Austin station to West Kowloon Station.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Link way from Austin station to West Kowloon Station.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Towards departure area for security checks.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Towards departure area for security checks.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Self-service ticket machine for HK citizens. These don't accept foreigner's passports. Visitors & passport holders must collect or buy tickets from ticket counters next to machines in HK West Kowloon Station.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Self-service ticket machine for HK citizens. These don't accept foreigner's passports. Visitors & passport holders must collect or buy tickets from ticket counters next to machines in HK West Kowloon Station.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Towards HK and China Immigration Area. No photos allow in this area. You clear both China and HK immigration in HK West Kowloon Station.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Towards HK and China Immigration Area. No photos allow in this area. You clear both China and HK immigration in HK West Kowloon Station.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): depaturesPhotos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): depatures

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Queue to go down to train platform by escalator.Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Queue to go down to train platform by escalator.

Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Trains from HK West Kowloon Station to China cities (Xiamen). Photos courtesy of Keith Wong (Singaporean working in HK, ChinaTrain12306 visitors): Trains from HK West Kowloon Station to China cities (Xiamen).

Hong Kong – Guangzhou High Speed Trains

As of January, 2023, there are 14 daily direct high speed trains running between Hong Kong and Guangzhou. 8 trains are running bewteen Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Guangzhou South Railway Station,while the other 6 trains are using Hong Kong West Kowloon & Guangzhou East Railway Station (Guangzhoudong). Guangzhou East is a new station added to the HK – Guangzhou express rail route, which is centrally located in Tianhe District, city center of Guangzhou, making it possible to travel by train between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Guangzhou’s city center directly. You can check live schedule online at:

Check Live English Schedule

guangzhou-hongkong-train-schedule-chinahighlights

• Check: China Highlights
• Promo Code: none

hongkong-guangzhou-timetables-12306-china-railway

• Check: 12306 China Railway
• Promo Code: none

guangzhou-hongkong-high-speed-train-schedule

• Check: Hong Kong MTR 
• Promo Code: none

Schedule, Ticket Price & Duration

• Stations used in HK: West Kowloon Station (香港西九龙站, Google map)
• Stations used in Guangzhou: Guangzhou South (GuangzhouNan, 广州南站, Google Map); Guangzhou East
• Top speed: 300km/h in maind land & 200km/h in Hong Kong
• Travel time: 50-70 minutes
• Train type: CRH G trains, Vibrant Express
• Distance: 180km

HK West Kowloon Station is located near Kowloon MTR station and Austin MTR station, both of which are linked to West Kowloon Station via subway or footbridge (just 10 minutes walk). Passengers who want to go to West Kowloon Station by MTR can get to Kowloon Station or Austin Station first, then walk to West Kowloon Train Station. You can use HK MTR journey planner http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/customer/jp/index.php to plan your route and fares.

Guangzhou South Station: it can be reached by metro line 2, line 7. (see Guangzhou metro official site: http://cs.gzmtr.com/ckfwEnglish/)

Guangzhou & Hong Kong train travel videos

China DIY Travel has made lots of helpful videos on how to take a train from HK or Guangzhou. If you are in China, you cannot view youtube videos without a VPN service.

China train travel video guide by www.china-diy-travel.com  (Promo code: ct123)
Guangzhou South	Guangzhou East	Guangzhou Station

China train travel video guide by www.china-diy-travel.com  (Promo code: ct123)
HK West Kowloon	Arrive HK by train

How to Take a Train from Guangzhou South

arrive-guangzhou-south-by-metroYou can get to Guangzhou South Station by metro

metro-entrance-kTake the entrance K to get from the metro to Guangzhou South Railway Station.

go-to-trainJust walk through the corridor to go to the station waiting area.

arrive-guangzhou-southIf your train is from Guangzhou South to Zhuhai, you don't need to go to the leavel 3. Just at level 1 to find your train.

escalator-to-waiting-areaTake this escalator to get to level 3, the waitting area.

guangzhou-south-station-waiting-areawaiting area of Guangzhou South

overview-guangzhou-southGet a feel on how big Guangzhou South is.

information-boardFind which check-in gate is for your train on the screen board. It offers English version.

check-in-gateCheck-in gates B11 and 10B

find-your-trainAfter boarding begins, you just have your tickets checked. Then take the escalator down to find your train.

vibrant-express-to-hongkong-at-guangzhou-southThe Vibrant Express to Hong Kong West Kowloon Station stopping at Guangzhou South Railway Station.

second-class-seat-vibrant-expressSecond class seat on Vibrant Express

first-class-seat-vibrant-expressFirst class seat on Vibrant Express

How to Buy Tickets for HK – Guangzhou High Speed Trains

Where to buy tickets

Buy at train stations

In Hong Kong: You can buy train tickets with your valid passport at ticket counters in Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. There are 28 ticket counters & 39 self-service ticket machines there, but the ticket machines don’t accept foreign passport. You will have to buy at counters. The ticket counters accept HK dollars or Chinese RMB. Note: You can only buy tickets starting from or ending at Hong Kong (eg: HK to Guangzhou or Guangzhou to HK)at most ticket counters in HK West Kowloon Station. If you travel beyond Hong Kong (eg: Guangzhou to Shenzhen, or Guangzhou to Chengdu), you need to buy at the 5 designated ticket counters or using a ticket agent.

In Guangzhou: You can buy tickets at Guangzhou South Station, Guangzhou East Station, Guangzhou Train Station or Guangzhou North Station, etc. Just choose the one close to you. Be expect queue lines there.

Book with a trusted online ticket agent

If you are outside China, and want to buy tickets in advance online, you can turn to use an online ticke agent. Below are two trusted ticket agents who get positive reviews and recommended often on Trip Advisor:

• Buy at www.chinahiglights.com/china-trains/ (Sharon offers help)
• Buy at http://www.china-diy-travel.com/en/ (Promo code: ct123. Helen offers help)
• Service time: 24/7 hours Payments: Paypayl, Visa, MasterCard, Alipay, etc

You can place your order any time with the agents, who will buy tickets for you when tickets are released. You can check English train timetable on their site and select a window seat or aisle seat. The agents can deliver tickets to your hotel as well as English instructions on how to take a train in China, how to get to the station, etc.If you run into any troubles, or need to refund or cancell tickets or change trains, they will offer you professional help. A additional service or delivery fee will be charged by the agents.

China Highlights vs China DIY Travel

Buy at Hong Kong Website

Hong Kong MTR Group has launched its online ticketing system both in Chinese and English version, where you can check train schedule, ticket fares and book tickets with your passport.After buying tickets online, you will have to collect them at West Kowloon Station.

• Buy ticket at Hong Kong MTR site
• Check train timetable
• Check train fares

When to buy tickets

Train tickets go on sale 30 days in advance for bookings online or 28 days in advance for bookings at train stations.

What are the trains like

Vibrant Express run by Hong Kong MTR Group are used to run along the Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Hong Kong Express Rail Link. The train set is based on CRH380A EMU high speed train, and has two classes of seats: second class and first class seats.

hongkong-vibrant-express-high-speed-train

vibrant-test-run-at-guangzhou-south

interior-vibrant-express

standard-class-seat-vibrant-express

Visitor’s Travel Reviews

Travel reviews from Alexandra, a visitor of ChinaTrain12306.com who traveled between HK and Guangzhou by high speed train on a business class seat. Here is his insider tips:

More Bullet Trains You Maybe Interested

Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guilin, Xiamen, Shantou, Foshan, Guangzhou to Shanghai high speed train

Hong Kong – Guangzhou Through Train Book Online

The Guangzhou – Hong Kong Through train, or commonly called Guangzhou – Kowloon Through Train is an inter-city train service running between Guangzhou East Station and Hung Hom Station in Kowloon of Hong Kong, jointly operated by MTR Corporation of Hong Kong & Guangzhou Railway Group.

The through trains run 12 times a day between Hung Hom Station and Guangzhou East Station (Guangzhoudong) with some of them calling at Changping Station in Dongguan & one continuing to Foshan Station. Live train schedule & ticket price can be found at its official site:

• Hong Kong – Guangzhou Through Live Train schedule (official site)
• Buy Guangzhou – Kowloon Through train tickets (using a ticket agent)

Through Train Schedule & Fares

The timetable below are used from MTR’s official site.

Trusted Online Ticket Agents:

Option 1: China Highlights is a reliable online agency  for China train ticketing. They get positive reviews on TripAdvisor & Trustpilot. Sharon and her team help you buy tickets & plan rail routes even deliver tickets to your hotels with a service fee from $6.

Book a Train

Option 2: China DIY Travel  is also a trusted online ticketing agent & get recommended for their excellent service on TripAdvisor. Helen & her Australian husband, team are always helpful buying tickets for foreigners. ChinaTrain12306 users can use PROMO CODE “ct123” to reduce booking fees.

Book a train