
Kowloon High Speed Train Complex2018
- infrastructure
- place making
- Mixed Development
- Masterplan
- public space
- transit system
Hong Kong West Kowloon Station is a major cross-border high-speed rail terminal located on the western edge of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Opened in 2018, the station serves as the southern terminus of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), enabling rapid transit between Hong Kong and major cities in Mainland China. As formerly part of reclaimed land used for cargo handling and transport interchange, the site was later redeveloped as a strategic node connecting not only transportation modes but also linking cultural, civic, and green urban assets. Functioning as a gateway between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the station plays a strategic role in the region’s transportation and economic systems, which is 142 km in length, connects with the National High-speed Rail network all the way to Beijing, the length of which is more than 25,000 km. . With high-speed rail links that dramatically reduce travel times—14 minutes to Shenzhen and 47 minutes to Guangzhou. The station covers an area of approximately 11 hectares, with all 15 tracks—including 9 for long-haul and 6 for short-haul trips—are located underground, allowing the ground level to be devoted to public space and pedestrian use. The design emphasizes integration across multiple scales: city-to-city transportation, local mobility, and landscape connectivity. Hong Kong West Kowloon Station exemplifies a new paradigm in urban design where infrastructure is conceived not as a barrier but as a civic and ecological asset. Beyond that, it embeds the infrastructure into vibrant public life, incorporating commercial zones, cultural spaces, and generous public areas together.
Project Leads
Organizations
- MTR Corporation Limited
- AECOM–Aedas Joint Venture
- EDAW Inc.
- Leighton – Gammon Joint Venture
- Windell
- Meinhardt
- ALT
- Buro Happold
Stages
- Master Planning


Site

Typology
Transit Infrastructure , Landscape deck, Cultural hubLand use type
Mixed DevelopmentSize
25 acresPopulation/density
43,033 people per square kilometer (In Kowloon distrcit, 2025)Gross floor area
400,000 square meters ( the largest underground train station in the world)Community Infrastructure
- public park
- public transportation


