MTR Corporation confirmed that from 26 January 2026 Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus will connect to 16 additional mainland Chinese cities, expanding its direct network to 110 destinations. New stops include Nanjing, Hefei and Wuxi—important production bases for Hong Kong-based manufacturers.
The timing is deliberate: officials expect record-breaking traffic over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Immigration and Customs will keep e-Channels open 24/7 and deploy roving officers to cap queue times at 15 minutes.
Travel buyers anticipate a modal shift on sub-eight-hour routes, where door-to-door rail timings rival short-haul flights once airport security waits are factored in. Corporate sustainability teams also welcome an estimated 30 per cent cut in per-passenger carbon emissions.
![West Kowloon high-speed rail hub adds 16 mainland stops ahead of Lunar New Year rush]()
Tour operators are already packaging rail-inclusive itineraries, and some airlines have hinted at redeploying aircraft to longer-haul sectors beyond the Greater Bay Area. Mobility managers should communicate that China visas are still required for most foreign staff, though VisaHQ notes processing times have fallen to three working days.
For mobility managers who want an even smoother experience, VisaHQ can handle the entire visa process—from digital form filling to passport couriering—through its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/). The platform provides real-time status updates and bulk-applicant tools, making it easier to keep frequent travelers compliant without tying up internal resources.
In the medium term, analysts see the expansion as another plank in the ‘one-hour living circle’, further knitting Hong Kong into mainland supply chains and reinforcing its status as a multimodal gateway.
The timing is deliberate: officials expect record-breaking traffic over the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. Immigration and Customs will keep e-Channels open 24/7 and deploy roving officers to cap queue times at 15 minutes.
Travel buyers anticipate a modal shift on sub-eight-hour routes, where door-to-door rail timings rival short-haul flights once airport security waits are factored in. Corporate sustainability teams also welcome an estimated 30 per cent cut in per-passenger carbon emissions.
Tour operators are already packaging rail-inclusive itineraries, and some airlines have hinted at redeploying aircraft to longer-haul sectors beyond the Greater Bay Area. Mobility managers should communicate that China visas are still required for most foreign staff, though VisaHQ notes processing times have fallen to three working days.
For mobility managers who want an even smoother experience, VisaHQ can handle the entire visa process—from digital form filling to passport couriering—through its Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/). The platform provides real-time status updates and bulk-applicant tools, making it easier to keep frequent travelers compliant without tying up internal resources.
In the medium term, analysts see the expansion as another plank in the ‘one-hour living circle’, further knitting Hong Kong into mainland supply chains and reinforcing its status as a multimodal gateway.
