Unveiled: how the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus in Hong Kong will work

To catch a train at the West Kowloon terminus under the arrangement for joint immigration and customs facilities, travellers will have to pass through three gates and two port areas straddling four levels to get to the platform. Here’s what the trip will look like.

From the ground-floor concourse, passengers go down one floor to the ticket hall on level B1. After tickets are bought, they will then be ushered through the entry gates and down two levels to the B3 departure area, where Hong Kong and mainland China’s clearance areas are located.

Departure clearance on the Hong Kong side comes first. Passengers will then immediately move to the mainland port area, where channels and counters for arrival clearance are located.

Once both clearance procedures are completed, they will head to a waiting area on the same floor and finally board their train at the B4 platform level.

All procedures from the mainland clearance area onwards will take place in the mainland port area, which means passengers must abide by mainland laws within that zone. This includes most of the train platform level.