Shenzhen station added to Flexi-trip arrangement

The Same-day Flexi-trip Arrangement for passengers using crossborder high-speed trains was extended on Monday to include travel between the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Shenzhen North Railway Station.

Travelers from Hong Kong to Futian Station and Shenzhen North Railway Station can now make three extra last-minute changes, no later than one hour after their trains have departed, although changing stations is not permitted. By comparison, the previous cutoff time was 45 minutes before the scheduled departure time from Hong Kong, or 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time if the train was leaving from the Chinese mainland.

Travelers can make the changes using the official railway app, 12306, or by visiting its website, as well as in person at any of the above three stations. No extra service fees will be charged.

The measure is intended to meet the growing demand for cross-border travel between the two cities. Over the weekend, the passenger traffic at the Express Rail Link West Kowloon reached more than 80,000, according to Hong Kong’s Immigration Department.

The Guangdong railway authority announced earlier this month that the Same-day Flexi-trip Arrangement has served more than 110,000 travelers since its launch on Aug 14, 2023.

In addition, more than 200 trains have been added to the cross-border route over a period of three weeks, since March 15, to cater to the increased demand during the upcoming Easter holiday and the Ching Ming Festival. Futian Station, for instance, will add another 22 trains to Hong Kong daily on Saturday, and from March 29 to April 1.