Lo Wu (KCR) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lo Wu Station is the northern terminus of the East Rail Line (Kowloon-Canton Railway) of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, sitting in Lo Wu

Lo Wu

Lo Wu or Lowu is an area in North District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It lies on the borders between Hong Kong and mainland China, specifically the Luohu District of Shenzhen in mainland China. The area is most notable as the location of the most heavily used immigration control point for...

within the Closed Area

Closed Area

The Frontier Closed Area is a 28 km² area in Hong Kong along the border with mainland China. It was gazetted and established in June 1951, and expanded to its current limit in 1962...

on Hong Kong's northern frontier. The station serves as a primary checkpoint for rail passengers between Hong Kong

Hong Kong

and mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

and vice-versa, rather than serving a specific residential/commercial area like the other stations do. It is also the northernmost railway station in Hong Kong.

When Kowloon-Canton Railway

Kowloon-Canton Railway

The Kowloon–Canton Railway refers to a railway network in Hong Kong which is now combined with the MTR railway system, comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China...

first went into service, trains did not stop at Lo Wu, as there was no border patrol at the time. However, shortly after the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

was created in October 1949, KCR announced that trains would terminate at Lo Wu, and that passengers would be able cross the border on foot.

Refurbishment work of the station started in 2002 and new facilities such as group waiting area and new ticket gates were introduced. Since 28 December 2004, this station also serves as the interchange station for the Shenzhen Metro

Shenzhen Metro

The Shenzhen Metro is the subway or underground system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China. The system opened on 28 December 2004, making Shenzhen the seventh city in mainland China to have a subway after Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, and Wuhan. The Shenzhen...

Luohu

Luohu District is a district of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.-Geography:The size of Luohu district is about 78.9 km² and contains 10 subdistricts....

station, which shares the same Chinese name.

This station is also unique to rail systems of any kind in that sliding doors limit the number of people that are allowed on the platform. Two large glass sliding doors close after about a minute elapses from the time the train pulls in for boarding. These doors are located after the area for validating at the ticket barriers, but before the platforms area. Even with this system in place, passengers may have to wait for the next train to arrive before they can travel back towards Hung Hom, as alternate trains pull into each paired platform. This layout makes use of the Spanish solution

Spanish solution

The Spanish solution is a method of using two railway platforms, one on each side of the track, in order to speed up boarding and alighting from trains. Alighting passengers get off the train on one side and boarding passengers get on from the other...

Entrances/exits

The station has two exits:

A single doorway that exits out to Lo Wu village, guarded by a police officer
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...

. To use this exit one must possess a Lo Wu Resident Card or a Closed Area
Closed Area
The Frontier Closed Area is a 28 km² area in Hong Kong along the border with mainland China. It was gazetted and established in June 1951, and expanded to its current limit in 1962...

Entry Permit, which must be obtained at the Sheung Shui
Sheung Shui
Sheung Shui is an area in New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling-Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southeast.-History:...

Police Station in Fanling
Fanling
Fanling , also known as Fan Ling and Fan Leng, is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District...

.

The boundary crossing checkpoint to and from Luohu on the Shenzhen side. Passengers must have valid travel documents to use this exit.

Station layout

Footbridge	Upper Level Concourse (Mainland China to HK)	Hong Kong Immigration Department Immigration Department (Hong Kong) The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained largely unchanged from its British predecessor model... and Customs and Excise Department checkpoints, Customer Service, HK Tourism Commission Office, Starbucks Coffee
Ground/Footbridge	Lower Level Concourse (HK to Mainland China)	Fare adjustment, Immigration Department and Customs and Excise Department checkpoints, duty-free shop Duty-free shop Duty-free shops are retail outlets that are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country... , Lo Wu resident exit
Platforms
	-	Track for Intercity trains
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Platform 1	towards Hung Hom
	Platform 2	termination platform
	Island platform, doors will open on left/right
	Platform 3	termination platform
	Platform 4	towards Hung Hom
	Side platform, doors will open on the left

Platform

Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

s 1 and 4 were newly built in recent years to accommodate the increasing patronage. Before the completion of refurbishment works, trains would stop at the island platform for simultaneous alighting and boarding. The platform was always crowded during the time. The building of platform 4 and converting platform 1 (which was rarely used before the refurbishment) for boarding smoothed passenger flow. From then, trains have been emptied with doors opened towards platforms 2 and 3 and opened to platforms 1 and 4, the alighting platforms, ever since.

This particular system of loading/unloading is popular in Europe and many US subway systems and named Spanish solution

Spanish solution

Entrances/exits

Station layout

Neighbouring stations

See also