West Kowloon Railway Station

West Kowloon Railway Station. Source: SOGO

  • Name in Chinese: 西九龙站, Xījiǔlóng Zhàn
  • Address: 1 Austin Road West, Yau Ma Tei District
  • Address in Chinese: 油尖旺区柯士甸道西1号
  • Station size: 15 platforms, 15 lines
  • Nearby transport: buses, taxis, MTR

There are two main train stations in Hong Kong: Hung Hom Railway Station and Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. Hung Hom Railway Station only serves normal-speed trains, while West Kowloon is a newly built station serving high-speed trains between 44 cities in mainland China.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station is located in West Kowloon Cultural District, which is a cultural center integrating multiple functions, such as shopping, entertainment, and culture. What’s more, Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station is the biggest underground train station in the world.

Popular Rail Lines Between the Mainland and West Kowloon

  • Beijing – Hong Kong: There is one high-speed train per day running from Beijing West Railway Station to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. The journey takes about 9 hours and costs 1,077 yuan per second-class seat.
  • Shanghai – Hong Kong: One high-speed train runs each day from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. The duration is about 8½ hours and it costs about 1,008 yuan per second-class seat.
  • Vibrant Express (Donggan Hao)

    Vibrant Express (Donggan Hao)

  • Guangzhou – Hong Kong: There are over 30 high-speed trains operating from Guangzhou South Railway Station to West Kowloon. The journey takes about 1 hour and costs 187 yuan for a second-class seat ticket.
  • Shenzhen – Hong Kong: Eighty high-speed trains run from Shenzhen North Railway Station to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station, operating from 6:44am to 10:36pm each day. The journey takes about 20 minutes and costs 75 yuan per second-class seat.
  • Guilin – Hong Kong: There is one high-speed train available. The duration is about 3½ hours and it costs 379 yuan per second-class ticket.
  • Hangzhou – Hong Kong: There is one high-speed train in service from Hangzhou East Railway Station to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. The duration is about 7½ hours and it costs 935 yuan per second-class ticket.
  • Hangzhou – Hong Kong: There is one high-speed train in service from Hangzhou East Railway Station to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. The duration is about 7½ hours and it costs 935 yuan per second-class ticket.
  • Xi’an – Hong Kong: There are no direct trains from Xi’an to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station but you can transfer at Beijing West Railway Station. First, take a high-speed train from Xi’an North Railway Station to Beijing West Railway Station. That takes about 5½ hours and costs 515.5 yuan per second-class ticket. Then take a high-speed train from there to West Kowloon.

Find all the available high-speed trains between Hong Kong and mainland China by reading Hong Kong – Mainland China High-Speed Trains.

Check the live timetables and book your train tickets to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station on our China Train Booking app.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station Map

Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station

>>> Check online map here

The Layout of Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station

The main building in Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station consists of four basements and two floors above ground. There are many signs in the station, which are written in Chinese, English, and traditional Chinese characters. Here is the detailed information about each floor:

The waiting area at West Kowloon.

The waiting area at West Kowloon

  • F2: Sky Corridor, footbridge to the MTR (Kowloon Station and Austin Station), specialty stores
  • F1: footbridge
  • B1: ticket hall, taxi drop-off stands, toilets, specialty stores, service desk, restaurants
  • B2: arrival concourse, smoking room, commercial area (currency exchange, restaurants, toilets, specialty stores), taxi stands, parking lot
  • B3: departure concourse, waiting hall, food and beverage outlets
  • B4: platforms

Collecting Tickets and Boarding Trains at West Kowloon

  1. Find a ticket window on B1 to collect the train ticket(s) you booked online.
  2. Ticket windows at West Kowloon.

    Ticket windows at West Kowloon

  3. After collecting the paper ticket(s), you need to pass through the security check.
  4. Take the escalator to B3 and find the waiting area.
  5. Go to B4 to board the train.

* Please note that you need to pay an extra fee to collect your ticket(s) if you book the tickets via mainland platforms.

Alternatively, you can use our China Train Booking app to buy your ticket(s) and have it/them delivered to your address to save all these procedures.

The Station Staffs at HK West Kowloon Railway Station

The station staff at Kowloon Station

The station staff at Kowloon Station

If you need any guidance or help, please feel free to ask the friendly station staffs in orange T-shirt. They can speak Chinese and English well.

What to eat at Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station

For Western-style food, you can find Starbucks and Hipster Burger on B1 and B2.

For Hong Kong local food, there is a local chain restaurant called Tim Ho Wan (添好運) on B1 selling local Hong Kong style cuisine such as steamed vermicelli roll (肠粉), shao-mai (烧麦), steamed dumpling and so on.

How to Go Through Customs at West Kowloon

Follow the signs to find to enter HK

Follow the signs to find to enter HK

Apply for the entry formalities at HK West Kowloon Railway Station:
1. After getting of the train, please take the escalator to B2.
2. Follow the signs and find the mainland departure clearance area on B2.
3. Go through the relevant customs procedures with your passport at the Hong Kong arrival clearance area on the same floor.

* Please pay attention that foreigners should queue at the manual lines for international travelers.

Apply for the departure formalities at HK West Kowloon Railway Station:
1. Have the security check and ticket checked on B1.
2. Go to B2 (Hong Kong arrival clearance) and apply for the exit formalities with your passport to leave HK.
3. Apply for the entry formalities on B2 at the mainland departure clearance area.

Here is a detailed diagram of the customs process:

(Source: 12306 China Railway)

Transport Around Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station

Bus

Hong Kong bus

Hong Kong bus

The abbreviation KMB stands for Kowloon Motor Bus. It’s one of the largest bus companies in Hong Kong.

Available KMB: 36B, 36X, 42A, 46, 60X, 63X, 69X, 81, 95, 110, 215X, 268X

Bus stops are located on the north side of Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station. It usually costs 1.2 – 45 HKD for a bus ticket. Here are some popular bus routes:

  • KMB 42A: Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station – Prince Edward (太子站)
  • KMB 60X: Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station – Mong Kok (旺角)
  • KMB 63X: Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station – Kwai Chung (葵涌)
  • KMB 81: Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station – Royal Park Hotel (帝都酒店)

MTR (Subway)

Follow the signs to find your way

Follow the signs to find your way

The metro station is called MTR in Hong Kong. There are two subway stops near West Kowloon. One is Austin Station (柯士甸站) and the other is Kowloon Station (九龍站). Passengers can get to the two stops by passing through the footbridges or Sky Corridor at Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station.

  • Austin Station: serves West Rail Line
  • Kowloon Station: serves Tung Chung Line and Airport Express Line


Hong Kong Metro Line Network, click the map to see a larger map:

Guangzhou subway map

Taxi

If you want to leave Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station, there are signs leading you to reach the taxi stands on B2.
If you take a taxi to get to Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station, you will be dropped off at B1.

Getting to Other Places from Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station

To Hung Hom Railway Station, 4 Kilometers

Ticket windows at West Kowloon.

Hung Hom Railway Station

>>> By MTR: West Rail Line (西鐵綫), two stops.
Take West Rail Line at Austin (柯士甸) Station and get off at Hung Hom (红磡) Station.
This journey takes about 20 minutes and costs 6 HKD.

>>> By taxi: The duration takes 15 minutes and costs about 27 HKD.

Learn how to book normal-speed train tickets to/from Hung Hom Railway Station when you read How to Buy a Hong Kong – Mainland China Normal-Speed Train Ticket.

You can also use our China Train Booking app to make the booking and have your ticket(s) shipped to your address within 3 days.

To Hong Kong International Airport, 38 Kilometers

>>> By bus: Take Citybus E23 at Austin (柯士甸) Station and get off at Changda Road (畅达路) stop.
This journey takes about 1 hour and costs 16 HKD.

>>> By taxi: The duration takes 41 minutes and costs about 81 HKD.

To Victoria Harbour, 7 Kilometers

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour

>>> By bus: Take KMB 110 (九巴110路) at Wui Cheung Road (汇翔道) and get off at Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, Victoria Park Road (铜锣湾避风塘,维园道) stop.
This journey takes about 45 minutes and costs 6 HKD.

>>> By taxi: The duration takes 19 minutes and costs about 34 HKD.

To Hong Kong Disneyland, 22 Kilometers

>>> By MTR: Tung Chung Line (東涌綫) → Disneyland Resort Line, six stops.
1. Take Tung Chung Line at Kowloon (九龍) Station and get off at Sunny Bay (欣澳) Station.
2. Transfer to Disneyland Resort Line and get off at the Hong Kong Disneyland stop.
This journey takes about 50 minutes and costs 26 HKD.

Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland

>>> By taxi: The duration takes 25 minutes and costs about 59 HKD.

To Hong Kong Avenue of Stars, 4 Kilometers

>>> By bus: Take KMB 215X (九巴215X路) at the West Kowloon terminus (九龙站总站) and get off at East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (尖东站).
This journey takes about 30 minutes and costs 4 HKD.

>>> By taxi: The duration takes 11 minutes and costs about 29 HKD.

For more Hong Kong travel tips, you are welcome to ask us via the FAQ column on our China Train Booking app.

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Further Reading