West Kowloon (train station)

West Kowloon Station is located in the Jordan area ( Yauchimwon County). From the south, the station is bounded by Austin Road, behind which the West Kowloon Cultural District, an extensive cluster of various cultural and entertainment facilities in Hong Kong, is read. Within walking distance from the station is the theater complex Xiqu Center .

From the east, the station is adjoined by the high-rise residential complexes The Austin and Grand Austin, from the north the station is limited by Jordan Road, and from the east it is adjacent to the Union Square residential complex, namely the Arch , The Waterfront and The Sorrento towers.

On the east side of the station is the Austin metro station ( Western line ), on the western side is the Kowloon metro station ( Tunchun and Airport Express lines). From the north, on the other side of Jordan Road, is the West Kowloon Bus Station. A pedestrian crossing system connects the train station lounge with rooftop gardens, both metro stations, as well as the bus station, Xiqu Center Theater, and Elements Shopping Center, located in Union Square ^{[1] [2]} .

Construction and installation work on the site of the future railway station began in 2009. The construction project for West Kowloon Station was divided into two parts: the Australian company Leighton Contractors (a division of the German group Hochtief ) and the Hong Kong company Gammon Construction worked on the northern site, and the British company Laing O'Rourke , the Chinese company HCCG and the Hong Kong company Paul Y. Engineering .

Initially, the opening of West Kowloon Station was planned for 2012, but after a catastrophic train collision in Wenzhou, China's high-speed highways were extensively tested and the station was put into operation for 2015. On March 30, 2014, severe floods occurred in the tunnels under construction, damaging almost all drilling machines , which forced MTR Corporation to again postpone the opening date ^[3] .

The station officially opened on September 4, 2018, and regular traffic of high-speed trains to mainland China began on September 23, 2018 ^[4] . Total investments in the station and railway infrastructure amounted to 10.75 billion US dollars, the estimated capacity of the station is over 80 thousand passengers per day ^[5] . Around the station there is a small city park with fountains and a walking area ^[6] .

West Kowloon Station is V-shaped; it consists of four underground and three ground floors. On the ground floor are the main waiting room in the form of an atrium , luggage compartment, walkways to the bus station and taxi rank. On the second ground floor there are passages to pedestrian bridges leading to the Austin and Kowloon metro stations; on the top floor - "Sky Corridor" and an observation deck. On the ground floor there are ticket offices and a taxi drop-off area; on the second underground - the passenger arrival hall, taxi boarding area and the underground passage to the Austin metro station; on the third underground - a passenger departure hall, a customs control zone , a duty-free trade zone and a catering area. On the lowest floor there are nine platforms for receiving long-distance trains and six platforms for receiving regional trains. Platforms for long-distance trains are located in the eastern part of the station and are capable of receiving trains with 16 cars. All platforms are equipped with elevators and escalators ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} .

Platforms for receiving regional trains are located in the western part of the station and are capable of receiving trains with 8 cars. These platforms are also equipped with elevators and escalators ^{[11] [12]} . All passengers pass through immigration and customs control upon landing, which allows trains not to stop at the border of Hong Kong and China. All platforms and exits from the station are equipped with facilities that allow people with disabilities to move freely.

More than a hundred trains depart daily from the station to mainland China. From platforms for regional trains, trains leave for neighboring Guangdong (cities of Shenzhen , Dongguan and Guangzhou ), and from platforms for receiving long-distance trains, trains leave for Beijing , Shijiazhuang , Zhengzhou , Wuhan , Changshu , Shanghai , Hangzhou , Ningbo , Fuzhou and Xiamen (follow the Beijing-Hong Kong high-speed line and the Shanghai-Shenzhen high-speed line ) ^{[13] [14]} .

Around the atrium are ticket machines, numerous restaurants and shops. From the bus station adjacent to West Kowloon Station, large buses and passenger minibuses travel to Kunthon , Sathinh , Yunlon , Eastern and the airport . On the roofs of the train station and the nearby bus station, city gardens with walking paths are laid out. Pedestrian crossings take you from the rooftop gardens to the West Kowloon Cultural District Park.

The huge walls of the station consist of more than 4,000 irregularly shaped glass panels that increase the flow of natural light and save energy consumption. The curved ceiling is made using 8,000 tons of steel. The structure of the atrium is supported by nine pairs of large columns of various heights. The tallest column reaches 45 meters from floor B3 to the ceiling. Some halls of the station are decorated with valuable works of art ^[15] .

Part of the station’s territory (certain areas on floors and platforms, walkways and escalators between them, a waiting room and office premises), as well as passenger train cars, belong to the jurisdiction of mainland China and are known as Mainland Port Area . On this territory, which in fact has extraterritorial status , the Chinese authorities carry out immigration, customs and quarantine control of passengers and their baggage. The rest of the station is subject to Hong Kong law. China Rail Police and Customs have no official authority outside the Mainland Port Area . The powers of the Chinese authorities extend only to law enforcement functions and do not affect the property and other rights of MTR Corporation and Hong Kong authorities. The Hong Kong government hands over the Mainland Port Area to the Chinese authorities for a nominal fee of 1,000 HKD per year ^{[16] [17] [18]} .

The agreement on the “Mainland Port Zone” was signed by the authorities of Hong Kong and Guangdong on November 18, 2017 ^{[19] [20]} . This agreement caused discontent among the democratic parties in Hong Kong, which saw it as a violation of the sovereignty of the SAR ^[21] .

• Station plan
• Virtual tour for passengers in the West Kowloon Station
• Inside west kowloon railway station Hong Kong
• West kowloon terminus