Many members of the public have reported that certain facilities at the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) are inadequate. These include insufficient seating in the departure lounge for outbound passengers, as well as a lack of convenient food and beverage services and retail facilities (such as vending machines). These shortcomings fail to meet passengers' practical needs and negatively impact their waiting experience. At today's (May 13) LegCo Meeting, Councilor Duncan Chiu inquired about the progress of the government and MTR Corporation's efforts to finalize arrangements for providing food and beverage services and retail outlets in the departure hall located within the Mainland port area.
In a written reply, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan stated that currently, West Kowloon Station's B1, B2, and ground floors feature a diverse range of retail outlets and vending machines to meet passengers' various needs. As the station's concourse falls within the Mainland Port Area, all operational arrangements—including the placement of retail outlets—must comply with the co-location arrangement. The SAR Government acknowledges that providing retail and food and beverage services in the West Kowloon Station concourse would help enhance the travel experience for passengers. The SAR Government is actively discussing with the MTR Corporation and relevant mainland authorities to advance the operational and supporting arrangements for these retail outlets within the framework of a co-location arrangement.
In addition, in 2026, the high-speed rail set new daily passenger volume records twice since its launch: 145,800 passengers on Feb. 19 (the third day of the Lunar New Year) and 148,700 passengers on April 4 (during the extended Easter and Qingming Festival holidays). As of April 2026, the average daily ridership for 2026 exceeded 90,000 passengers, higher than the 2025 daily average of 80,000. Public holidays and weekends were peak travel periods for the high-speed rail, with daily ridership generally exceeding 100,000 passengers.
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