Ticket prices were announced yesterday for the new high-speed rail that'll cut transit to Hong Kong to just 48 minutes for Guangzhou residents and 14 minutes for Shenzheners. Plus, the new trains will all have Wi-Fi, a boon for connected travelers.
The project, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, features a new terminal station in Hong Kong's West Kowloon.
A trip from the new station to Guangzhou South will cost RMB214 (HKD260), while the fares to Futian and Shenzhen North stations will be RMB66 (HKD80) and RMB74 (HKD90), respectively.
The train will also bring travelers from Hong Kong to Humen, Dongguan, for a fare of RMB173, or HKD210.
READ MORE: You Can Now Choose Seats, Book Transfers on China's High-Speed Trains
Prices are significantly higher than those of existing cross-border transportation, but the Hong Kong government is betting on increased convenience to sway travelers.
The train running between Guangzhou East station and Hung Hom, for instance, takes two hours, although at the lower cost of RMB173.
The advantage may be clearer for Shenzhen commuters. While more expensive than the MTR, the Futian to West Kowloon route will take only 14 minutes on the new trains, while the Shenzhen North route will last 23 minutes.
Ticket prices were announced by Hong Kong's Secretary of Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan yesterday. He also revealed that, under the current plan, 114 pairs of trains will run daily on 130 peak days each year. Of that number, 84 will go to Shenzhen, while the rest will service Guangzhou and Dongguan.
The ambitious railway is projected to one day extend all the way to Beijing, with an estimated travel time of eight hours and 45 minutes from Hong Kong. Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Fuzhou are also to be included in the network.
For now, though, the HKD84.4 billion project will focus on connecting Guangdong to Hong Kong. Construction first began in 2010, and has since suffered delays. The new West Kowloon terminal also attracted controversy in Hong Kong earlier this month after a 'co-location' agreement was announced, allowing mainland officers to enforce law and conduct immigration checks in part of the station.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam recently defended the plan, saying it was a matter of convenience to allow passengers to go through immigration before embarking on their cross-border journeys.
UPDATE (January 19, 2018 at 7.19pm CST): this article has been altered to clarify that the new high-speed rail project cost HKD84.4 billion and not HKD84.4 million.
READ MORE: INFOGRAPHIC: World's Largest High-Speed Rail Networks
[Images via China Daily, Southern Metropolis Daily]
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