Review: MTR High Speed Rail first class (Hong Kong to Guangzhou)

Introduction

Guangzhou and Hong Kong have never been closer together: in just 51 minutes, you can be whisked from Kowloon to the home of the Canton Fair, and easily return the same day.

51 minutes is about as long as it'd take to hop aboard Hong Kong's Airport Express and check-in at Hong Kong Airport for a flight to Guangzhou, let alone actually get there – so for busy executives on the move, the MTR's High Speed Rail saves not only time, but hassle too.

Hong Kong West Kowloon station: arrival and ticketing

Being attached to Austin station on the MTR's West Rail Line, Hong Kong West Kowloon High Speed Rail station is easy to find: just follow the signs to departures, of which there are plenty.

Kowloon MTR station is also within walking distance, although isn't directly connected, as with Austin. It's an option to keep in mind if you're connecting to or from Hong Kong International Airport though, as the Airport Express has a stop at Kowloon.

In any case, you'll know you're approaching the right place when you emerge in a space with high ceilings and plenty of natural light.

Here at the station, you can either queue on the left to buy a ticket, or line-up on the right to collect one that's pre-purchased, such as is possible via the MTR website.

A first class ticket from Hong Kong to Guangzhou South Railway Station costs HKD$358 (about A$66), and with tickets in-hand, it's then through security.

Expect to pass through a metal detector and a baggage X-ray, just like at the airport, although there are no liquid restrictions, and no need to remove laptops from your bag at screening. Then, zip through Hong Kong outbound passport control, where e-Channel lanes are available for those who've registered.

Read: How to skip the queues at Hong Kong passport control

Other familiar touches include duty-free shops, and then Chinese passport control and Customs, which you clear before boarding the train in Hong Kong.

MTR Corporation usually recommends arriving at least one hour ahead of your train's scheduled departure time, as even with minimal queues and e-Channel access, the formalities took around half an hour to complete after arriving at the station.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Business Lounge

When departing Hong Kong, passengers travelling in first class, as well as business class and 'premium class', have access to a dedicated Business Lounge, found up the elevator after passport control.

The lounge is relatively basic and doesn't offer food – only chilled and boiling water, with a few teas available – although many of the seats have views out towards the central atrium:

Otherwise, it's a simple room with seats and functional WiFi, being a nicer place to await your train than out in the terminal itself, but not the type of lounge you'd arrive hours early to enjoy.

Do note, there are no sales of food and drinks after going through Chinese passport control. The duty-free shops, situated between Hong Kong and Chinese immigration, sell drinks and snacks, so if you're thirsty or peckish and want something other than water, take the chance to stock up.

MTR High Speed Rail: first class cabin

Boarding of the train begins punctually 15 minutes before departure. Take note of the gate number on your ticket, as there can be more than one gate for the same train service.

Travelling in first class, the gate number assigned was separate to the one used by most other passengers, which provided a form of 'priority boarding', and meant arriving on the platform much closer to the train carriage where first class was located.

On board, first class seating adopts a 2-2 layout. As you'd expect, this provides one passenger with direct aisle access, and the other with a window seat:

There's a fair amount of space between each row, and being assigned to a window seat, it wasn't difficult to access the aisle even with a passenger seated beside, who didn't have to move.

There's a fold-down tray table in front of you, which can be pulled towards you slightly, for convenience:

Power points are available in every row, catering for the standard UK/Hong Kong-style plug, as well as US, European and Chinese-type connectors.

While visually similar to Australian sockets, Aussie travellers may wish to pack one of those other adaptors as a just-in-case, as many Chinese power outlets can prove tricky, being ever so slightly a different size.

Television screens are also located throughout the cabin:

To tune in, there's a headphone plug with volume controls at each seat, with several channels of music available too. Here, you'll also find the switch for the seat's reading light, and the recline button:

Beyond that, there's at least one hook at each seat to keep your coat or jacket out of the way, joined by baggage racks above the seats and at one end of the cabin:

For comfort, a foot rest can be folded down as well:

These trains can travel at up to 300km/h: you can check your current speed via the screens in each car:

Finally, each seat is clearly labelled and seats are assigned, so when boarding the train or returning to your seat, just keep your eyes peeled for the seat numbers, which are above the windows:

MTR High Speed Rail: the journey

From Hong Kong West Kowloon to Guangzhou South railway station (Guangzhounan), the 'Vibrant Express' journey takes a mere 51 minutes, so there's no food or snack service here.

After 18 minutes, this particular train (G6584) stops at Shenzhen and then continues to Guangzhou. If you're travelling only from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, be aware that you can't obtain a Shenzhen visa on arrival as you can at other land borders, because passport control takes place before boarding the train, and there's no visa-free facility.

Read: How to get a Shenzhen visa on arrival

With an 11:15am departure out of Hong Kong, my phone had switched to a Chinese network by 11:27am, and a few minutes later, the train emerged from its underground tunnel to reveal Mainland China.

Other than switching networks, phone service was uninterrupted throughout the entire journey, including when the train was within underground tunnels. WiFi is available too, but is only available for those with a Chinese mobile number, which the registration process requires.

Even so, at 51 minutes from beginning to end, there's very little time for much more than a few quick emails.

MTR High Speed Rail: arriving in Guangzhou

Having already cleared Chinese passport control on the ground in Hong Kong, you step off the train in Guangzhou as a 'domestic' passenger, so other than scanning your ticket to open the exit barrier, there are no further checks to complete.

However, as everybody else on the train is doing the same thing, the queues at the main exit can be long. Instead of waiting, just look further to the left or right for another barrier, as it doesn't matter where you exit, and will save some time.

Unlike taking the plane, arriving by train means you're already in town with your baggage in-hand, ready to carry on with your day: surely beating what's otherwise an hour-long flight, not to mention the time spent getting to and from the airport, and checking and collecting any baggage at each end.

Although the train still requires an early arrival, and the high speed rail station is south of the Guangzhou CBD, completing all the border formalities before the journey begins makes use of the time you'd otherwise spend waiting, so that when you arrive in Guangzhou, you're ready to roar: or attend the Canton Fair.

Read: 10 expert tips for attending the Canton Fair in Guangzhou

Chris Chamberlin travelled as a guest of MTR Corporation.