With all due respect, you are completely off your rocker if you deny the fact that the HSR has made cities like Xuzhou, Jiaxing, Nanning, Wuxi, Bengbu, and Changsha MUCH more relevant.

It is true actually. They use mainly short-haul aircraft, but there is at least one rotation utilising wide-bodies.

I just took HSR last Fri from Changsha to HK and then take Tung Chung Line to HK station. It cost almost HK$1000 in First Class, and it took me 3.5 hours on the train +1 hour at Changsha station + 30 mins for immigration and transfer to HK station. Without taking price and potential flight delay into consideration, I would prefer KA flight which leaves around the same time in Changsha. An one-way ticket cost around HK$1500. If it wasn't my clients prefer train to plane, I would definitely fly KA for extra CPs :)

3mm is actually way within the usually tolerances track and rail vehicles are built to, so having trains run on both should not be an issue. In reality track gauge is just a figure that the maintenance and geometry standards are derived from. I guess the MTR "gauge" is just a relic. For example, Italy's gauge was officially 1445mm until the 1930ies, yet trains ran through from all over Europe without issues.

MTR could just declare 1435 as the gauge (just as Italy did) and as track gets renewed they would eventually end up being completely compatible. Until then for through running stock with somewhat stricter tolerances would be needed.

I can understand why Cathay Pacific runs this extreme short haul flight, but I doubt they are happy about it. This adds a lot of cycles to an expensive airframe without generating a lot of passenger miles. China has been building a great train network, and could look in to better integrating it with their airports, making short haul flights unneeded.

Why is that extra time needed? One advantage of trains (if the operator chooses to be smart) is that you do not need to be so early at a station. 5 minutes before departure on the platform should be sufficient (and in most rail systems it is).

i agree, but being smart in china is not the way forward. no. china wants to secure their so-called national security and require check-in a silly amount of time in advance. That's why one flies HND-ITM purely just for mileage purposes.
The train operation also advertises a 45 minute checkin at West Kowloon Station which makes one having to spend more time in a train station than for flights, where one only needs to check in at Hong Kong or Kowloon station 90 minutes (up to 5.30 the day before) before a flight. More to show that the train operations is some sloppy shambles. Nevermind, the tickerting system just broke today.

Therefore I would be flying if i were to transit. Who transits from a long haul flight from tokyo to osaka/kyoto on a train anyways, or connect CDG to AMS (or even BRU) w thalys.

I'm curious about this too because I usually show up for trains 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time. Was there some sort of document check because you were going to HK? (I thought this only happened in HK.)

I'm certainly not sold on the HK extension yet based on reports that I've read, but much of the network is fabulous.

Well I could go to futian in 10mns from Kowloon. That does it for me.

Yes the train ride ride was 10 MNS both ways. Great for a weekend gateway out of HK and for quick business meeting. How about you did you try? Seems you don't go out of HK that much from what I can tell