Hong Kong to consider more high-speed sleeper trains to Beijing, Shanghai: transport chief
- Transport minister Lam Sai-hung says city will discuss increasing train frequency with mainland Chinese operator if there is demand
Hong Kong will discuss increasing the frequency of high-speed sleeper trains to Beijing and Shanghai with mainland China’s railway operator if there is demand, the city’s transport chief has said, adding that daily services are possible.
Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung also said on Saturday that he would take the first Beijing-bound train on June 15 to join fellow passengers on a “memorable trip”.
Lam said the new sleeper-train service between the city to Beijing and Shanghai would be attractive to business travellers and tourists, as it would save them time and money.
“Whether we increase the frequency of trains will have to depend on demand, as we have trains running four days of the week,” he said. “If data in the future shows there is a need for increased train frequencies, we can see whether there is room for us to arrange for trains every day from China Railway.”
China Railway announced on Tuesday the new service would replace the suspended through train running between Hung Hom in Hong Kong and the two destinations.
Under the new regular service, trains departing from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus would take about 12½ hours to get to Beijing West railway station and around 11 hours to Shanghai Hongqiao railway station.
The trains would run between Friday and Monday, which Lam said was because demand for these services was stronger during the latter half of the week.
