Can Hong Kong’s Express Rail Link shine a light on Disneyland and tourism?

When visitor numbers to Hong Kong Disneyland dropped two straight years to 6.1 million in 2016, crimped by fewer mainland visitors, many doubted the park could recapture its all-time annual best in 2014 when it recorded an attendance of 7.5 million.

However, the US theme park operator sees a glimmer of hope in reversing its fortune from the major long-term, cross-border transport infrastructure projects that are nearing completion. They represent access to untapped mainland Chinese cities.

The 142-kilometre high-speed Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), which will form part of the 20,000-km national high-speed rail network, is expected to massively improve the connectivity between Hong Kong and many mainland cities, especially those in the southern Guangdong province.

As will the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge that will reduce travel times between points on either side of the Pearl River estuary.

The 26-km Hong Kong section of the rail, which runs from the terminus in West Kowloon to Shenzhen, is expected to be completed next year. It will link Hong Kong with the Guangzhou South Station in the Shibi township of Panyu district, through the Futian Station and the Shenzhen North Station in Shenzhen.

With the opening of the new section, the travel time between Guangzhou and Hong Kong would more than halve from 100 to 48 minutes.