LCQ8: Ancillary facilities at West Kowloon Station of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link

LCQ8: Ancillary facilities at West Kowloon Station of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link 
Question:
 
     Many members of the public have relayed that certain ancillary facilities at the West Kowloon Station (WEK) of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) are inadequate, including insufficient seating in the waiting hall for departing passengers and a lack of convenient food and beverage (F&B) services and retail facilities (e.g. vending machines), which fail to meet passengers’ actual needs and affect their waiting experience. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the monthly total patronage, the highest daily patronage and the date concerned, and the average daily patronage during peak and non-peak periods of the Hong Kong Section of XRL, from January 1, 2025, to the end of April this year;
 
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the average number of passengers waiting in the waiting hall at WEK during peak and non-peak periods from January 1, 2025, to the end of April this year; of the current number of seats in the waiting hall; whether the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) has any plans to increase the number of seats and other facilities in the waiting hall; if so, of the details (including the proposed number of additional seats and the proportion of such seats equipped with USB charging ports) and timetable;
 
(3) given that the Transport and Logistics Bureau, in its reply to a question from a Member on June 4, 2025, stated that the Government would work with MTRCL on refining the arrangements for providing F&B services and shops in the waiting hall in the Mainland Port Area, and that it had already had preliminary discussions with the Mainland authorities regarding the operation and regulatory arrangements for such shops, of the latest progress of the work concerned (including the F&B services and facilities added or to be added, and the number, location and regulatory arrangements of the shops involved); and
 
(4) of the operating revenues and expenditures of MTRCL in operating WEK and the Hong Kong Section of XRL over the past three financial years; and of the percentage of the operating expenditures spent on the maintenance, enhancement, upgrading and management of passenger convenience facilities at the station in each of those years?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     The Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) was commissioned on September 23, 2018, connecting with the national high-speed rail network which currently spans over 50 000 kilometres. Since January 2026, the number of Mainland destinations directly accessible from the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station (WEK) has increased from 44 at the beginning of its operation to the current 110. The XRL patronage has been steadily on the rise and striking new highs in recent years. In 2025, the patronage of the XRL Hong Kong Section reached an annual total of over 30 million passenger trips, and the cumulative patronage surpassed 100 million passenger trips thus far. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to enhance the XRL services continuously, so as to meet passengers’ travelling needs and the long-term development of the XRL.
 
     In consultation with the MTRCL, a reply to the question raised by the Hon Duncan Chiu is as follows:
 
(1) The monthly number of arrival and departure passenger traffic via the Hong Kong West Kowloon Control Point from January 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, are tabulated below: