The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway or Jingguangshengang high-speed railway from its Chinese name is a high-speed railway corridor of the CRH passenger service, connecting Beijingxi Station in Beijing and Futian Station in Shenzhen. It crosses the border and follows Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section to West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong. It is 2230 kilometres (1390 mi) long, and is the only Chinese high-speed railway to cross a border that requires immigration and customs clearance. The existing, conventional Jingguang railway runs largely parallel to the line. The line forms part of the Beijing–Harbin, Beijing–Hong Kong (Macau) passageway, based on the “Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals” railway master plan announced in 2016

The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway

• The Beijing–Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong high-speed railway or Jingguangshengang high-speed railway from its Chinese name is a high-speed railway corridor of the CRH passenger service, connecting Beijingxi Station in Beijing and Futian Station in Shenzhen
• It crosses the border and follows Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link Hong Kong section to West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong
• It is 2230 kilometres (1390 mi) long, and is the only Chinese high-speed railway to cross a border that requires immigration and customs clearance
• The existing, conventional Jingguang railway runs largely parallel to the line
• The line forms part of the Beijing–Harbin, Beijing–Hong Kong (Macau) passageway, based on the “Eight Verticals and Eight Horizontals” railway master plan announced in 2016

History

• Construction started in 2005
• The Wuhan–Guangzhou section opened in December 2009
• The Guangzhou–Shenzhen section opened in December 2011
• The Zhengzhou–Wuhan section opened in September 2012 and the Beijing – Zhengzhou section was opened in December 2012
• The 36-kilometre (22 mi) cross-border Shenzhen–Hong Kong section opened on the 23rd of September 2018
• The line is the world’s longest high-speed rail route
• The high speed rail line cuts travel time by more than half
• The line fully opened on September 23, 2018

Immigration clearance

• As Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong portion of the high speed rail passes through an immigration control point
• The West Kowloon Terminus was designed to allow both Mainland and Hong Kong officials to conduct immigration control in Hong Kong but for several years there was an unclear constitutional issue as Mainland officials were thought not to have the constitutional authority to enforce Mainland law in Hong Kong
• In November 2017, the Government of Hong Kong resolved this question by signing the Co-operation Arrangement for Implementing Co-location Arrangement, designating a portion of West Kowloon railway station as the “Mainland Port Area” that would be subject to Mainland law
• Travelers coming from Hong Kong therefore pass through Mainland immigration and customs clearance before boarding their trains, allowing direct service to the entire Mainland high-speed rail network without having to stop at the Mainland-Hong Kong border