The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is a proposed express railway connecting the cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen of Guangdong Province, in Mainland China section, and the city of West Kowloon, in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The project cost is estimated at $39.5 billion, and will be funded by the Hong Kong government. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will link the three cities, when it opens in 2015. Aedas will design the structure while JHP will sketch the interior of the West Kowloon Terminus, which will handle all retail and commercial areas.
The West Kowloon Terminus is split into two areas, including an 11,000 square meter station trading area, and a 30,000 square meter podium with retail offer. The Hong Kong section of the railway will be an underground system and consequently a ‘cut and cover’ build method will be adopted for the station terminus.
The design group will contribute certain architectural elements, but will focus on retail planning and design, brand strategy, identity work, and way finding, at the station. Steve Collis, joint manager of JHP, said that they will be looking at all public areas with commercial activity on the concourse and below the station. JHP expects work to commence in the final quarter of this year, and last until the end of 2011.
The new link promises to run trains every three minutes at peak time, and carry 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction; trains will operate on a maximum speed of 200km per hour. Passenger journeys are expected to reach 40 million by 2030.
