Hong Kong – Futian or Shenzhen North by Bullet Train
The best and fastest way to travel between Hong Kong & Shenzhen is the high speed trains, which was launched on 23 September of 2018 liking Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Railway Station with Shenzhen Futian Railway Station in 14 minutes and Shenzhen North Railway Station in 23 minutes.
According to the latest news, Hong Kong high speed train service will start service on September 23 of 2018. If you have any questions, just contact Jack at chinatrain12306@gmail.com.Hong Kong – Shenzhen HSR Railway Map
How to Take a Train from HK West Kowloon
Photos courtesy of Keith Wong, a Singaporean working in HK & ChinaTrain12306 visitor.
Hong Kong – Shenzhen by High Speed Train
Starting from 23 September,2018, it’s been available to travel between Hong Kong and Shenzhen by high speed train. The bullet trains use West Kowloon Railway Station in Hong Kong and Futian Railway Station and Shenzhen North Railway Station in Shenzhen, taking 14 – 19 minutes.
| From West Kowloon Station to | Frequency | Travel Time | Fares | Schedule | |
| Shenzhen Futian Station | 37 | 14mins | ￥68 / HK$78 | Check | |
| Shenzhen North Station | 55 | 23mins | ￥75 / HK$86 | Check | |
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Check & book at http://www.chinahighlights.com/china-trains/
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About Train
Vibrant Express owned by Hong Kong will be 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: standard class and first class seats.
How to Buy Tickets
When to buy tickets
How long in advance can I book Hong Kong – Shenzhen high speed train tickets ? The train tickets go on sale online 30 days in advance, or 28 days in advance if buying at train stations.
Where to buy tickets
Foreigners can buy these train tickets at train stations, or via online website or use an online ticket agent. Seen below.
Buy at train stations
In Hong Kong: You can buy tickets with your passports at HK West Kowloon Station, where there are 23 ticket counters selling Hong Kong train tickets, also officially called Cross Boundary Ticket (for trains starting or ending at HK, eg: HK – Shenzhen Futian train or Shenzhen North to HK) and 5 designated ticket counters selling Mainland Domestic Tickets (eg: Shenzhen to Guangzhou, Guilin to Shenzhen). For purchasing or collecting Mainland Domestic Tickets at the 5 designated counters, it will charge you extra fees for each ticket.
Self-service ticket machines are also available in HK West Kowloon, but they don’t accept foreigners’passport.
| Ticketing Channel in HK | Acceptable Identification Document | Advance Sales | Booking Cut-off Time (before train departure) | Payment Method | ||
| Cash | e-Payment5 | Mobile Payment | ||||
| Ticket Counters | Passport | 28 days | 45 mins | HKD & RMB | Visa MasterCard UnionPay Octopus EPS |
Apple Pay Google Pay Samsung Pay Alipay, Alipay HK WeChat Pay, WeChat Pay HK |
| Ticket Machine | Not accepted passport | 28 days | 45 mins | HKD | Visa payWave payWave MasterCard contactless Octopus |
Not applicable |
In Shenzhen: You can also buy tickets at Shenzhen’s train stations with passports, including Shenzhen North, Futian Station, Shenzhen Railway Station (Luohu), etc. Just go to the one close to you.
Buy online with a trusted 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.
Buy Online at Hong Kong MTR 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.
Important notes: If you buy tikets on Hong Kong MTR official site, you are only be able to collect tickets in HK West Kowloon Station and it is imposible to pick up them in mainland China. So, if you start journey from West Kowloon Station to Shenzhen Futian Station or Shenzhen North Station, and want to travel back to HK, you should collect all tickets for both journeys in West Kowloon Station. But if you start your journey from Shenzhen North or Shenzhen Futian Station, don’t use HK MTR site to book tickets but use a mainland China’s site as you cannot pick up tickets booked at HK MTR site in Shenzhen.
About Station
West Kowloon Railway Station: It is Hong Kong’s high speed train station (Hung Hom Train Station only operates slow trains to Guangzhou, Foshan, or Beijing and Shanghai), serving direct high speed trains to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Changsha, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, Beijing, and Xiamen, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanchang, etc.
Shenzhen Futian Railway Station: Futian Railway Station is centrally-lcoated in CBD in Futian District of Shenzhen City. It is connected to the Shenzhen metro line 2, line 3, and line 11. It has high speed trains to Shenzhen North, Dongguan Humen Station, Guangzhou South and even further to Foshan West, Changsha South, Wuhan, Zhengzhou East and Beijing West, etc.
Shenzhen North Railway Station: Shenzhen North is the main high speed station in Shenzhen and connected to Shenzhen metro line 4, and line 6. It operates more high speed trains than Futian Railway Station. Destinations include: Chaoshan, Xiamen North, Huizhou South, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Hangzhou East, Shanghai Hongqiao, Suzhou, as well as Nanning, Wuzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Changsha, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Beijing, etc.
- Stations used in HK: West Kowloon Station (香港西九龙站, Google Map)
- Stations used in SZ: Shenzhen Futian (福田站) & Shenzhen North (ShenzhenBei, 深圳北站)
- HK West Kowloon Station: reached by HK MTR service at Kowlon Station or Austin Station (use Hong Kong MTR planner to plan route)
- Shenzhen Futian: by metro line 2, line 3, and line 11
- Shenzhen North: by metro line 4, and line 6
- Train type: Vibrant Express & CRH G trains
Useful resources
- Shenzhen metro planner (official Shenzhen metro site)
- Hong Kong MTR planner (official site)
- China train ticket booking service
From Hong Kong Airport to Futian & Shenzhen by Train
If you arrive at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), and want to travel to Futian or Shenzhen North Station by high speed train, you can take the Hong Kong MTR Airport Express from airport to Kowloon Station, from where just walk via subway or footbridge to West Kowloon Train Station to catch your bullet trains to Shenzhen. See how to get from Hong Kong airport to West Kowloon.
Hong Kong – Shenzhen North or Futian Station by MTR & Metro (not recommended)
Since the high speed trains will not be running until September of 2018, passengers now can take metro and MTR service to travel from Hong Kong to Shenzhen Futian Station and Shenzhen North Station, from where you can catch the high speed trains from Shenzhen to other cities in mainland of China.
From Hong Kong to Shenzhen North Station: Take Hong Kong’s East Rail Line MTR service to Lok Ma Chau terminal first, then get across the border and walk into Shenzhen’s Futian Checkpoint Station, from where you can take metro line 4 to Shenzhen North Station. (Use Hong Kong MTR planner & Shenzhen metro planner to plan your journey)
From Shenzhen North to Hong Kong: Just do as explained above in an opposite direction.
From Hong Kong to Shenzhen Futian Station: Take Hong Kong’s East Rail Line MTR service to Lok Ma Chau terminal first, then get across the border and walk into Shenzhen’s Futian Checkpoint Station, from where take metro line 4 to Convention & Exhibition Center metro station, then transfer to line 1 at Shopping Park, and transfer again to line 3 from Shopping Park to Futian metro station. (Futian Checkpoint – Convention & Exhibition Center – Shopping Park – Futian). Use Hong Kong MTR planner & Shenzhen metro planner to plan your journey.
From Shenzhen Futian Station to Hong Kong: Just do as explained above in an opposite direction.
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.
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.
If I go with my family 4 people, which one better to go to Shenzhen from airport Hong Kong. Do you know how much it cost if I use taxi from airport to shenzhen?