Beijing–Kowloon through train

The Beijing–Kowloon through train (Chinese: 京九直通车; pinyin: jīng jiǔ zhítōng chē) is an intercity railway service between Hung Hom Station (formerly Kowloon Station until 1998) in Hong Kong and the Beijing West railway station, jointly operated by the MTR of Hong Kong and China Railway, China's national rail service. The train runs to Beijing and Hong Kong every other day. Services use the East Rail Line in Hong Kong, cross the boundary between Hong Kong and mainland China at Lo Wu and then continue along China's railway network via the Guangshen railway and the Jingguang railway to Beijing. Total journey time is approximately 23 hours, and the train uses 25T class train carriages.

Direction Board of Z97/98
Beijing–Kowloon through train, hauled by a SS8 electric locomotive, passing through Kowloon Tong station in Hong Kong

From 28 December 2017, travelers of selected nationalities are able to utilize the 144-hour transit when traveling on this line to or from Beijing, providing that they clear immigration in Beijing.[1]

Carriages

The train operates in two parts, where 11 carriages depart Hong Kong (travelling under number T97B from Beijing and T98B 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 stop at Changsha, Wuhan and Zhengzhou, though only passengers travelling from Guangzhou may disembark due to customs and immigration reasons.

The Hong Kong to Beijing section of the train is 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 have hard sleepers and hard seats.

Dining services are 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 provides 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.

Carriage number 123–56–9101112–1516–171819
Type of carriages XL25T
Baggage van
(Chinese:
行李车)		 YW25T
Hard sleeper
(Chinese:
硬卧车)		 YW25T
Hard Sleeper
(Chinese:
硬卧车)		 RW25T
Soft sleeper
(Chinese:
软卧车)		 RW19T
Luxury Soft Sleeper
(Chinese:
高级包厢软卧车）		 CA25T
Dining car
(Chinese:
餐车)		 YW25T
Hard Sleeper
 YZ25T
Hard seat
(Chinese:
硬座车)		 YW25T
Hard Sleeper		 UZ25T
postal car
(Chinese:
邮政车)
Notes Carriages No. 1–11 go to Hong Kong (Z97B/98B) Carriages No.12-19 only serve passengers taking Z97A/98A
  • RW19TLuxury soft sleeper carriage
  • Interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin
  • Another view of the interior of a luxury soft sleeper cabin

Locomotives

The train changes locomotives once on the way.

Sections Kowloon－Guangzhou EastGuangzhou East－Wuchang－Beijing West
Locomotives and their allocation SS8 electric locomotive
Guangzhou Railway Group Guangzhou Depot
(Chinese: 广铁广段)		 SS9 electric locomotive
Guangzhou Railway Group Guangzhou Depot (Chinese: 广铁广段) or
Beijing Railway Bureau Beijing Depot (Chinese: 京局京段)

Operation
On the ticket availability board in Beijing West railway station, the Beijing–Kowloon through train is numbered as P97 to distinguish it from the train going to Guangzhou East.

Ticketing

Beijing-bound passengers from Hong Kong may order tickets from an online reservation system operated by the MTR Corporation. The system is limited to the one-way, Hong Kong to Beijing trips only.[2] Ordering of tickets requires extensive registration, including a credit card number, and tickets can only be delivered in the Hong Kong SAR, which makes 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 can only be purchased in Beijing or from travel agencies.

Service

Passengers departing from or arriving at Hong Kong can embark or disembark from platforms 5 or 6 of Hung Hom Station, which is restricted to intercity operations. Prior to boarding, passengers must go through Hong Kong immigration counters and cannot exit the restricted area.

Check hall for Beijing–Kowloon through train at Beijing West railway station.
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 use platform 1 of Beijing West railway station, which is 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 by police.

Trains operate from either terminating stations on an alternate schedule, under the following timetable:[3]

Effective from 15 May 2016
Z97 Stops Z98
ArriveDepartArriveDepart
—12:40Beijing West15:30—
18:2518:31Zhengzhou09:3709:44
23:0523:11Wuchang04:5605:02
02:2602:32Changsha01:2901:35
10:0111:04Guangzhou East17:1618:06
13:01—Hung Hom—15:15

See also

References
  1. "Explanations of 144-hour Transit Policy for Nationals of Certain Countries". Chinese Ministry of Public Security. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. MTR ticketing information (Note 1 under "Beijing–Kowloon through train")
  3. Official timetable
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