Hong Kong's Western Rail Link to Qianhai targets a 2035 opening

Lire en français : Shenzhen–Hong Kong : deux liaisons ferroviaires transfrontalières

Hong Kong aims to open its Western Rail Link to Qianhai in Shenzhen in 2035, with the Hong Kong section due to go to tender in 2027. Mainland planners are meanwhile weighing three ways to bring a second Guangzhou–Shenzhen high-speed line across the border.

The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu–Qianhai) is an 18.1 km underground line, of which 7.3 km lies in Hong Kong and 10.8 km in Shenzhen. It will start west of Hung Shui Kiu station on the Tuen Ma Line, run through Ha Tsuen and Lau Fau Shan, cross Deep Bay and reach Qianhai via Shenzhen Bay Port. The Hong Kong government puts the journey from Hung Shui Kiu to Qianhai at about 15 minutes.

Five stations are planned: Hung Shui Kiu, Ha Tsuen and Lau Fau Shan in Hong Kong, and Shenzhen Bay Port and Qianhaiwan across the border, with a depot at Ha Tsuen. The government's target is to finish construction in 2034, followed by testing and joint commissioning with Shenzhen in 2035. It has not published a cost.

Border checks in Shenzhen only

The most unusual feature is the border arrangement. Immigration and customs facilities will be co-located on the Shenzhen side, with none in Hong Kong, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said in September 2025. That keeps the Hong Kong stations simple, but it means the line's capacity at the frontier depends on how quickly passengers clear controls at Shenzhen Bay Port or Qianhai.

Procurement is moving step by step. The bureau and the Highways Department invited expressions of interest until 31 October 2025, after briefings in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hong Kong drew more than 160 organisations. In a written reply to the Legislative Council on 3 June 2026, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said design work on the Hong Kong section was "in full swing" and that Shenzhen had begun the feasibility study for its part. Both sides are leaving room in their designs for later extensions.

Where high-speed trains could join

Those extensions matter because of a second project. The Second Guangzhou–Shenzhen high-speed railway, approved by China's National Development and Reform Commission in May 2020, is planned from Guangzhou North through Baiyun airport and central Dongguan to Shenzhen Airport East. The Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission tendered a pre-study of a southern extension towards Hong Kong in August 2025, China Daily reported.

Three options are under review, according to The Standard on 15 October 2026. High-speed trains could stop at Qianhai, with passengers changing to the Western Rail Link. They could share the Western Rail Link's tunnel corridor on separate tracks as far as Hung Shui Kiu. Or the line could continue under the border to a new high-speed station in the Northern Metropolis. Officials are comparing border crossings, control facilities, passenger numbers and cost.

The choice will shape how Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis connects to the mainland network. The existing Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong line is the only 350 km/h link between the two cities. A change at Qianhai looks the simplest option but adds a transfer and loads the 18 km metro-style line. A shared tunnel saves digging, yet puts a metro-style line and a national high-speed railway side by side under Deep Bay. A dedicated crossing gives the most capacity and the hardest border-control design. We covered the government's wider rail plans in our report on the Western Rail Link and Northern Link.

The next milestone is the completion of design work, ahead of the 2027 tender for the Hong Kong section of the Western Rail Link.

Sources: Hong Kong government press release (05/09/2025); Highways Department project page (reviewed 21/07/2026); Development Bureau, LCQ15 reply (03/06/2026); China Daily (06/08/2025); The Standard (15/10/2026).

Photo: Hung Shui Kiu station site, where the Western Rail Link will start, January 2026. Knowledge Era, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Article written with the help of AI from the sources cited above, reviewed by the TrainsNews editorial team. Real photo, credited below the image. Spotted an error? contact@trainsnews.com – Our AI charter