Originally Posted by
Gongzuokuang
Not trying to be argumentative, but I'm wondering about the time comparison to the East LIne. I never think about that schedule for the East Line; I just show up whenever I want, and there is a train to Lok Ma Chau or Lo Wu every 6 to 12 minutes. So there is never much of a wait. Of course, getting through immigration on the mainland can take a while. And then taking the MTR to Shenzhenbei (for an apples to apples comparison) also adds a lot of time (and changing MTR trains too).
I'm honestly not sure if the HSR saves much time if you are travelling to Shenzhen. Yes, the train is MUCH faster with no stops; only something like 15 minutes. But after you wait for AT LEAST 1 hour before boarding, AND allow time for ticketing, etc, does it really save you much time? And there is also some risk if you want to gamble with only allowing a short time to pass through immigration, because if you miss the train, they don't refund your ticket, do they? And I'm not sure if they'd put you on the next train.
Anyway, all that said, I think the high-speed rail is MUCH less of a hassle.
I've taken that HSR between HK West Kowloon and Shenzhen 3 times - 2 southbound and 1 northbound.
The 1st time was really just to have a try - I started from somewhere on Shenzhen Line 3 and ended at Ma Tau Wai - therefore neither HSR nor East Line were convenient, and HSR won the time using the speed.
The 2nd time I was transferring from a domestic train at Shenzhen North with 9 minutes layover, so it was a natural choice to take it back to Kowloon. It saved MUCH time in this case.
The 3rd time, which was the only northbound trip, was from HKU to somewhere on Shenzhen Line 3, not only it saved time but it also saved 2 transfers as well - I could take bus 970 to HSR station, HSR to Futian and transfer to Line 3 directly, while in the past without HSR , I had to take bus to HSR station, take the West Line to Hung Hom, then East Line to Lo Wu, then Line 1 and finally Line 3. It really saved MUCH time in this case as well.
Therefore the HSR, under many circumstance, can save MUCH time for travellers in Hong Kong, unless you start in the northern new territories where you are better off to get on train in Shenzhen North instead.
Also, there is no risk involving passing through immigration on southbound trains, so the advantage is even larger.