Beijing–Kowloon through train
{{Short description|Former railway service in China}}
{{Infobox rail service
| box_width = 300px
| color = {{rcr|MTR|Beijing-Kowloon}}
| name = Beijing–Kowloon through train
{{lang|zh-Hans-CN|京九直通车}}
{{lang|zh-Hant-HK|京九直通車}}
| image = Board of Z97-98 (20190331151627).jpg
| caption = Direction Board of Z97/98
| type = Inter-city rail
| locale = {{ubl|Beijing|Hong Kong SAR}}
| first = 18 May 1997
| last = 9 August 2022
| operator = CR Guangzhou
| start = {{rws|Beijing West}}
| end = {{rws|Guangzhou East}}
Hung Hom
| owners = {{ubl|China Railway (China section)|KCRC (Hong Kong section)}}
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|s=京九直通车
|t=京九直通車
|p=jīng jiǔ zhítōng chē
|j={{kCantonese|京九直通車}}
}}
File:SS8 0192@KOT (20190313125921).jpg electric locomotive, passing through Kowloon Tong station in Hong Kong]]
The Beijing–Kowloon through train ({{zh| s=京九直通车| t=京九直通車}}) was an intercity railway service between Hung Hom station (formerly Kowloon station until 1996) in Hong Kong and the Beijing West railway station in China, jointly operated by the MTRC of Hong Kong and China Railway, China's national rail service. The train ran to Beijing and Hong Kong every other day. Services used the East Rail line in Hong Kong, crossed the boundary between Hong Kong and mainland China at Lo Wu and then continued along China's railway network via the Guangshen railway and the Jingguang railway to Beijing. Total journey time was approximately 23 hours, and the train uses 25T class train carriages.
From 28 December 2017, travellers of selected nationalities are able to utilise the 144-hour transit when travelling on this line to or from Beijing, providing that they clear immigration in Beijing.{{cite web|title=Explanations of 144-hour Transit Policy for Nationals of Certain Countries|url=http://www.mps.gov.cn/n2254996/n2254999/c5977739/content.html|website=Chinese Ministry of Public Security|access-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131115647/http://www.mps.gov.cn/n2254996/n2254999/c5977739/content.html|archive-date=31 January 2019|url-status=dead}}
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, services to Hong Kong has been suspended indefinitely since 30 January 2020. There has been no plan to resume its service, even after the end of the pandemic.
On 9 August 2022, the train Z97/98 was suspended due to the construction of the Guangzhou Baiyun railway station, which opened in December 2023.
On 4 June 2024, China Railway announced that the services from Beijing and Shanghai to Hung Hom will be replaced by high-speed sleeper trains to West Kowloon station.{{cite news |title=Trains to depart Hong Kong at night, arrive in Beijing in morning from June 15 |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3265283/high-speed-sleeper-trains-depart-hong-kong-night-arrive-beijing-shanghai-morning-june-15?module=Transport&pgtype=section |work=South China Morning Post |date=4 June 2024 |language=en}} The train number renamed from Z97/98 to D909/910(Later renamed to G897/898 on 30 September 2024). The Beijing West railway station port is closed officially on 5 July 2024.{{cite web |title=海关总署公告2024年第96号（关于关闭北京西站、上海站、广州、东莞等4个铁路口岸的公告） |url=http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/2480148/6013329/index.html |website=General Administration of Customs |accessdate=2024-08-01}}
Carriages
The train operated in two parts, where 11 carriages would depart Hong Kong (travelling under number Z97B from Beijing and Z98B from Hong Kong) with an additional 8 carriages added at Guangzhou East railway station (using number Z97A/Z98A), totalling 19 carriages. Along the route, trains stopped at Changsha, Wuhan and Zhengzhou, though only passengers travelling from Guangzhou might disembark due to customs and immigration reasons.
The Hong Kong to Beijing section of the train was divided into three distinct classes – hard sleeper, soft sleeper and luxury soft sleeper (catering only to two persons, with better furnishing and private lavatories). The Guangzhou to Beijing section of the train only had hard sleepers and hard seats.
Dining services were provided by the Guangshen Railway Company. Passengers may choose to buy from carts which are pushed throughout the train at different intervals, or choose to dine in the dining car. The dining car provided a selection of light refreshments, along with two sets of menus (one for breakfast, and one for lunch/dinner) providing a range of cooked, a la carte dishes.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;"
!Carriage number |1 | 2 | 3–5 | 6–9 | 10 | 11 | 12–15 | 16–17 | 18 | 19 |
| style="width: 10%;" | Type of carriages
| style="width: 10%;" | XL25T | style="width: 10%;" | YW25T | style="width: 10%;" | YW25T | style="width: 10%;" | RW25T | style="width: 10%;" | RW19T | style="width: 10%;" | CA25T | style="width: 10%;" | YW25T | style="width: 10%;" | YZ25T | style="width: 10%;" | YW25T | style="width: 10%;" | UZ25T | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes
| colspan=6 style="color:blue;"| Carriages No. 1–11 go to Hong Kong (Z97B/98B) | colspan=4 | Carriages No.12-19 only serve passengers taking Z97A/98A |
File:China Railway RW19T passenger coaches 20100725.jpg|RW19TLuxury soft sleeper carriage
File:China Railway RW19T passenger coaches 20100725 363.jpg|Interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin
File:China Railway RW19T passenger coaches 20100725 365.jpg|Another view of the interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin
Locomotives
The train changed locomotives once on the way.
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; font-size: small;"
!Sections |Hung Hom－Guangzhou East | Guangzhou East－Beijing West |
| style="width: 10%;" | Locomotives and their allocation
| style="width: 40%;" | SS8 electric locomotive | style="width: 50%;" | HXD1D electric locomotive |
|---|
Operation
=Ticketing=
Beijing-bound passengers from Hong Kong could order tickets from an online reservation system operated by the MTR Corporation. The system was limited to the one-way, Hong Kong to Beijing trips only.[http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/B2C/frmFareBeijing.asp?strLang=Eng MTR ticketing information (Note 1 under "Beijing–Kowloon through train")] Ordering of tickets required extensive registration, including a credit card number, and tickets could only be delivered in the Hong Kong SAR, which made it impossible for most non-HK resident customers to order. Travellers for Beijing may purchase northbound tickets at a dedicated counter at Hung Hom station, whilst southbound tickets from Beijing to Hong Kong could only be purchased in Beijing or from travel agencies.
=Service=
Passengers departing from or arriving at Hong Kong could embark or disembark from platforms 5 or 6 of Hung Hom Station, which was restricted to intercity operations. Prior to boarding, passengers must go through Hong Kong immigration counters and cannot exit the restricted area.
File:Immigration and Quarantine Hall@BJX (20150105123706).JPG
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 200
| image1 = BJX train Z97 platform front Sept-2015.jpg
| image2 = BJX train Z97 platform middle Sept-2015.jpg
| caption2 = The platform area for the Kowloon section of train Z97 in Beijing West railway station is temporarily designated as boundary restricted area and guarded by police before departure.
}}
Trains used platform 1 of Beijing West railway station, which was connected to the check hall for this particular through train service. Passengers coming from or going to Hong Kong clear Chinese immigration and customs in the hall. The part of the platform between the hall and the passenger cars for Hong Kong is cordoned off {{clarify span|by police.|date=January 2022}}
Trains operate from either terminating stations on an alternate schedule, under the following timetable:[http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/B2C/frmScheduleBeijing.asp?strLang=Eng Official timetable]
| class="wikitable"
! colspan=6|Effective from 15 May 2016 | ||||
| colspan="2"|Z97
! rowspan="2"|Stops ! colspan="2"|Z98 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrive||Depart||Arrive||Depart | ||||
| — | 12:40 | Beijing West | 15:30 | — |
| 18:25 | 18:31 | Zhengzhou | 09:37 | 09:44 |
| 23:05 | 23:11 | Wuchang | 04:56 | 05:02 |
| 02:26 | 02:32 | Changsha | 01:29 | 01:35 |
| 10:01 | 11:04 | Guangzhou East | 17:16 | 18:06 |
| 13:01 | — | Hung Hom | — | 15:15 |
See also
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://mtr.com.hk/eng/intercity/index.html MTRC intercity passenger services]
{{MTR}}
{{Commons category|Beijing-Kowloon Through Train}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beijing-Kowloon through train}}
Category:Passenger rail transport in Hong Kong