The Beijing–Kowloon through train (京九直通车 jīng jiǔ zhítōng chē) is an intercity railway service between Hung Hom Station (formerly Kowloon Station until 1998) in Hong Kong and the Beijing West railway station, jointly operated by the MTR of Hong Kongand China Railway, China’s national rail service
The train runs to Beijing and Hong Kong every other day. Services use the East Rail Line in Hong Kong, cross the boundary between Hong Kong and mainland China at Lo Wu and then continue along China’s railway network via the Guangshen railway and the Jingguang railway to Beijing. Total journey time is approximately 23 hours, and the train uses 25T class train carriages
From 28 December 2017, travelers of selected nationalities are able to utilize the 144-hour transit when traveling on this line to or from Beijing, providing that they clear immigration in Beijing
Carriages
The train operates in two parts, where 11 carriages depart Hong Kong (travelling under number T97B from Beijing and T98B from Hong Kong) with an additional 8 carriages added at Guangzhou East railway station (using number Z97A/Z98A), totalling 19 carriages
Along the route, trains stop at Changsha, Wuhan and Zhengzhou, though only passengers travelling from Guangzhou may disembark due to customs and immigration reasons
The Hong Kong to Beijing section of the train is divided into three distinct classes – hard sleeper, soft sleeper and luxury soft sleeper (catering only to two persons, with better furnishing and private lavatories). The Guangzhou to Beijing section of the train only have hard sleepers and hard seats
Dining services are provided by the Guangshen Railway Company. Passengers may choose to buy from carts which are pushed throughout the train at different intervals, or choose to dine in the dining car. The dining car provides a selection of light refreshments, along with two sets of menus (one for breakfast, and one for lunch/dinner) providing a range of cooked, a la carte dishes
Service
Passengers departing from or arriving at Hong Kong can embark or disembark from platforms 5 or 6 of Hung Hom Station, which is restricted to intercity operations. Prior to boarding, passengers must go through Hong Kong immigration counters and cannot exit the restricted area.
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The platform area for the Kowloon section of train Z97 in Beijing West railway station is temporarily designated as boundary restricted area and guarded by police before departure
Trains use platform 1 of Beijing West railway station, which is connected to the check hall for this particular through train service. Passengers coming from or going to Hong Kong clear Chinese immigration and customs in the hall. The part of the platform between the hall and the passenger cars for Hong Kong is cordoned off by police.
Trains operate from either terminating stations on an alternate schedule, under the following timetable
| Carriage number | 1 | 2 | 3–5 | 6–9 | 10 | 11 | 12–15 | 16–17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of carriages | XL25T Baggage van (行李车) | YW25T Hard sleeper (硬卧车) | YW25T Hard Sleeper (Chinese: 硬卧车) | RW25T Soft sleeper (Chinese: 软卧车) | RW19T Luxury Soft Sleeper (Chinese: 高级包厢软卧车） | CA25T Dining car (Chinese: 餐车) | YW25T Hard Sleeper | YZ25T Hard seat (Chinese: 硬座车) | YW25T Hard Sleeper | UZ25T postal car (Chinese: 邮政车) |
| Notes | Carriages No. 1–11 go to Hong Kong（Z97B/98B） | Carriages No.12-19 only serve passengers taking Z97A/98A |
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RW19TLuxury soft sleeper carriage
Interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin
Another view of the interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin
Effective from 15 May 2016 Z97 Stops Z98 Arrive Depart Arrive Depart — 12:40 Beijing West 15:30 — 18:25 18:31 Zhengzhou 09:37 09:44 23:05 23:11 Wuchang 04:56 05:02 02:26 02:32 Changsha 01:29 01:35 10:01 11:04 Guangzhou East 17:16 18:06 13:01 — Hung Hom — 15:15
