West Kowloon Station Connects China with Hong Kong

WHILE the impressive Hong-Kong-Macau-Zhuhai ocean crossing took most of the spotlight this year, another large infrastructure project has also completed in one of China's two Special Administrative Regions.

West Kowloon Station, designed by Andrew Bromberg at Aedas, officially opened in September and creates an USD $11 billion high-speed rail link with Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Above: West Kowloon Station, designed by Andrew Bromberg at Aedas (image courtesy of Paul Warchol).

From here, passengers can connect to the national high-speed network which connects to Shanghai and Beijing.

With 15 underground tracks - six of which serve local destinations within Hong Kong - the station is expected to handle 80,100 passengers a day.

Above: The station has a walking path and planting on its roof (image courtesy of Virgil Bertrand).

Built on reclaimed land on the city's waterfront, the station features a curving, segmented roof that covers the terminal.

A footpath leads up on the roof to offer views of the city, while skylights bring light into the terminal building.

Above: Large skylights channel daylight into the underground station concourse (image courtesy of Paul Warchol). 

While its highest point is only 25 metres above ground level, the building extends a further 25 metres underground - creating a lofty central hall.

With a total floor area of 400,000 square metres, and featuring customs and immigration checkpoints, the station is more akin to an airport.

Above: The new station connects Hong Kong to mainland China's high speed train network (image courtesy of Paul Warchol).

Construction was meant to complete in 2012 - though this was delayed following changes to the Chinese high-speed rail network after an incident in Wenzhou in 2011.

In 2014, the tunnels flooded, delaying works yet again. It was reported that when the station opened in 2018, it was 30% over budget.