Which of Shenzhen's Four Railway Stations?

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WHICH OF SHENZHEN'S FOUR RAILWAY STATIONS? · SHENZHEN

Choose among Shenzhen's four railway stations by destination and where you are staying. Hong Kong, Guangzhou and long-distance trains favour different hubs, and a cheaper departure can cost far more in cross-city travel.

The short answer

Ifyou are going to Hong Kong West Kowloonthen

Futian station — 14 minutes at the fastest, Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11 on level B1. Shenzhen North also runs direct (18 minutes at the fastest) if you are staying up there. Immigration for both sides is at West Kowloon, 06:30-23:30, so no train runs outside those hours, and change money before you clear on the Hong Kong side: there is no exchange in the mainland port area. Shenzhen station and Shenzhen East have no Hong Kong trains; to walk across instead, use the Luohu crossing.

Ifyou are going to Guangzhouthen

From Luohu, or straight after walking in from Hong Kong at the Luohu crossing: Shenzhen station and the intercity — 12 non-stop trains a day to Guangzhou East at 07:00, 10:00, 13:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00, fastest 63 minutes, gate 6. From elsewhere in the city, read your ticket: many Guangzhou trains leave from Shenzhen North, not Futian. From the airport, the Suishen intercity station is one level below Terminal 3.

Ifyou are going to another mainland citythen

Shenzhen North — 848 high-speed trains a day, Metro Lines 4, 5 and 6 on the east square. Do the 12306 passport verification days before: you cannot buy until it has passed. Only go to Shenzhen East if your ticket says so, and check the train type first — its 60 daily trains are conventional and often run overnight; if you booked it by mistake, Line 5 reaches Shenzhen North in 8 stops.

Ifyou are deciding by where you sleep — Luohu, or Futian and Nanshanthen

Staying in Luohu: Shenzhen station for Guangzhou and the Luohu crossing next door for Hong Kong on foot — both on Metro Line 1 (Luohu station) and Line 9 (Renmin Nan). Staying in Futian or Nanshan: Futian station for West Kowloon, with Lines 2, 3 and 11 on its B1 transfer level. Either way, Shenzhen North is the station for the rest of China.

Ifyou have large luggagethen

At Shenzhen North, pick the exit before you walk: A1/A2 for the east square, where the metro and the taxi rank are (A2 is closer for taxis), B1/B2 for the west square and ride-hailing — the two are on different sides of the station. Futian is three levels underground: B1 metro transfer, B2 gates, B3 platforms. From the Luohu crossing, Shenzhen station is about a five-minute walk. We have no lift or luggage-service details for these stations.

Ifyou arrive late at nightthen

Taxis from the queuing rank are the safe option: in Shenzhen the meter adds 30% between 23:00 and 06:00, and leaving the Shenzhen North rank between 23:30 and 06:00 adds a flat 5 yuan. Ignore drivers touting around Shenzhen North's west square or on Shenzhen station's forecourt — in one published case a 20 yuan ride from the Luohu crossing cost 90 yuan; complaints 12328. Metro gates take contactless Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB and UnionPay cards since 10 September 2026. For Hong Kong, nothing crosses at West Kowloon after 23:30, and at Luohu the Hong Kong side stops first.

Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against

Swipe sideways; the first column stays put

Futian Station

福田站Open the place →

Where it goes: Hong Kong West Kowloon in 14 minutes at the fastest — the quickest of the four; 216 high-speed trains a day (July 2026 timetable). Many Guangzhou and northbound trains use Shenzhen North instead, so check before booking · 2026-06-26
Getting there (metro & exits): Underground on Yitian Road, both sides of Shennan Boulevard. Level B1 is the transfer hall for Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11 (Futian station), with walkways to Shopping Park and Civic Center stations; B2 is the concourse and gates, B3 the platforms; 21 entrances · 2026-09-23
Passport: buying & checks: Passport for both the ticket and the gate; 12306 (passport accepted) or the two staffed windows at the ends of B1. For Hong Kong trains you also need a visa or visa-free basis for each side; since 5 November 2025 the West Kowloon port is a 240-hour visa-free transit entry point · 2025-11-03
How early to arrive: Station hours and security times are not published. There is no immigration hall here: Hong Kong trains clear at West Kowloon, whose port runs 06:30-23:30 — outside those hours there is no cross-border train · 2025-10-31
Help & money in the station: B2 waiting hall with more than 1,200 seats. No currency exchange in the mainland port area at West Kowloon — the port office points to the 'First' shop on the Hong Kong side, B2, 07:00-23:00. A West Kowloon information desk is on B2; its hours are not published · 2025-10-31
Best for: Anyone going to or coming from Hong Kong West Kowloon, especially if you stay in Futian or along Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11

Shenzhen North Station

深圳北站Open the place →

Where it goes: The national high-speed hub, where the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Xiamen-Shenzhen lines meet: 848 high-speed trains a day (July 2026 timetable). Also direct to Hong Kong West Kowloon, 18 minutes at the fastest · 2026-06-26
Getting there (metro & exits): Longhua. Metro Lines 4, 5 and 6 all reach the east square — 4 and 6 above it, 5 below. Exits A1/A2 lead to the east square (metro, bus, taxi; A2 is closer for taxis), B1/B2 to the west square (ride-hailing, private cars); the two squares are on different sides · 2024-05-08
Passport: buying & checks: 12306 with a passport: since 28 November 2023 a foreign passport can be verified online (automatic, or upload the photo page for a staff check), or at a station window. You can only buy once verification has passed. At the gate a foreign passport uses the staffed lane · 2023-11-30
How early to arrive: No published station hours — plan by your train. The security queue is the slow part here, not the ticket check. At peak a one-way, exit-only passage without security runs from exit A2 into the Line 4/5/6 concourses · 2026-09-23
Help & money in the station: An international service centre on the east square since 13 August 2026, 9:00-19:30 daily, with multilingual help and a currency exchange point next door. Railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306) · 2026-08-14
Best for: Anyone heading to another mainland city by high-speed rail; a second option for West Kowloon if you are staying in the north

Shenzhen Station (Luohu)

深圳站（罗湖）Open the place →

Where it goes: The Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity: over 80 departures a day to Guangzhou East, Guangzhou and Guangzhou Baiyun, 12 of them non-stop to Guangzhou East at 07:00, 10:00, 13:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00, fastest 63 minutes. Plus conventional long-distance trains and a few high-speed services since 2022 - 246 trains a day in all. Nothing to Hong Kong: the through-train port is suspended · 2026-06-26
Getting there (metro & exits): Luohu, immediately north of the Luohu crossing — about a five-minute walk from its arrivals side. Metro Line 1 terminates underneath (Luohu station, exit A on the transport level); Line 9 is at Renmin Nan, exit A1 by the Shangri-La. The station's own exit numbering is not published · 2025-10-31
Passport: buying & checks: 12306 with a passport, but the account's verification for a foreign document is not instant — register a few days ahead; or buy at the windows with the passport. Under 12306 rules a foreign passport uses the staffed lane (a few stations' gates read passports — go by what you find on the day) · 2026-09-23
How early to arrive: No published station hours or security times. Since July 2025 intercity, conventional and high-speed passengers share one entrance and the second-floor hall, with gate 6 for intercity (follow the signs on the day). A 2025 summer-peak suspension of card and QR tap-through ended on 31 August 2025 — at busy times check the station notice · 2026-09-23
Help & money in the station: No English service published for this station; railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306). Currency exchange is at the Luohu crossing next door, including the transport level of the Luohu station complex. Do not take a car offered on the forecourt — complaints 12328 · 2026-09-23
Best for: Anyone who has just walked in from Hong Kong at Luohu and is going on to Guangzhou; people staying in Luohu

Shenzhen East Station (Buji)

深圳东站（布吉）Open the place →

Where it goes: Conventional long-distance trains only, starting and terminating here, mainly in the Guangzhou-Kowloon and Beijing-Kowloon directions: 60 a day (July 2026 timetable). No high-speed trains · 2026-06-26
Getting there (metro & exits): 94 Jihua Road, Buji, Longgang District, north of Luohu. Metro Buji station on Lines 3, 5 and 14 is the same hub — navigation apps saying 'Buji' are right. Rail passengers enter on the ground and second floors and exit on B1. Line 5 runs to Shenzhen North in 8 stops · 2022-07-26
Passport: buying & checks: 12306 with a passport: since 28 November 2023 online verification (automatic or photo upload) or at a station window; buy only once it has passed. At the gate a foreign passport uses the staffed lane · 2023-11-30
How early to arrive: No published station hours. Arrive early: the waiting hall is small for the crowds it takes, and at Spring Festival and other peaks the station runs flow control · 2026-09-23
Help & money in the station: No English service published for this station; railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306). Currency exchange: not checked · 2026-09-23
Best for: Only someone whose ticket actually says Shenzhen East — check the train type, since these runs often take a full night

Compare	Futian Station	Shenzhen North Station	Shenzhen Station (Luohu)	Shenzhen East Station (Buji)
Where it goes	Hong Kong West Kowloon in 14 minutes at the fastest — the quickest of the four; 216 high-speed trains a day (July 2026 timetable). Many Guangzhou and northbound trains use Shenzhen North instead, so check before booking · 2026-06-26	The national high-speed hub, where the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Xiamen-Shenzhen lines meet: 848 high-speed trains a day (July 2026 timetable). Also direct to Hong Kong West Kowloon, 18 minutes at the fastest · 2026-06-26	The Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity: over 80 departures a day to Guangzhou East, Guangzhou and Guangzhou Baiyun, 12 of them non-stop to Guangzhou East at 07:00, 10:00, 13:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 21:00, fastest 63 minutes. Plus conventional long-distance trains and a few high-speed services since 2022 - 246 trains a day in all. Nothing to Hong Kong: the through-train port is suspended · 2026-06-26	Conventional long-distance trains only, starting and terminating here, mainly in the Guangzhou-Kowloon and Beijing-Kowloon directions: 60 a day (July 2026 timetable). No high-speed trains · 2026-06-26
Getting there (metro & exits)	Underground on Yitian Road, both sides of Shennan Boulevard. Level B1 is the transfer hall for Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11 (Futian station), with walkways to Shopping Park and Civic Center stations; B2 is the concourse and gates, B3 the platforms; 21 entrances · 2026-09-23	Longhua. Metro Lines 4, 5 and 6 all reach the east square — 4 and 6 above it, 5 below. Exits A1/A2 lead to the east square (metro, bus, taxi; A2 is closer for taxis), B1/B2 to the west square (ride-hailing, private cars); the two squares are on different sides · 2024-05-08	Luohu, immediately north of the Luohu crossing — about a five-minute walk from its arrivals side. Metro Line 1 terminates underneath (Luohu station, exit A on the transport level); Line 9 is at Renmin Nan, exit A1 by the Shangri-La. The station's own exit numbering is not published · 2025-10-31	94 Jihua Road, Buji, Longgang District, north of Luohu. Metro Buji station on Lines 3, 5 and 14 is the same hub — navigation apps saying 'Buji' are right. Rail passengers enter on the ground and second floors and exit on B1. Line 5 runs to Shenzhen North in 8 stops · 2022-07-26
Passport: buying & checks	Passport for both the ticket and the gate; 12306 (passport accepted) or the two staffed windows at the ends of B1. For Hong Kong trains you also need a visa or visa-free basis for each side; since 5 November 2025 the West Kowloon port is a 240-hour visa-free transit entry point · 2025-11-03	12306 with a passport: since 28 November 2023 a foreign passport can be verified online (automatic, or upload the photo page for a staff check), or at a station window. You can only buy once verification has passed. At the gate a foreign passport uses the staffed lane · 2023-11-30	12306 with a passport, but the account's verification for a foreign document is not instant — register a few days ahead; or buy at the windows with the passport. Under 12306 rules a foreign passport uses the staffed lane (a few stations' gates read passports — go by what you find on the day) · 2026-09-23	12306 with a passport: since 28 November 2023 online verification (automatic or photo upload) or at a station window; buy only once it has passed. At the gate a foreign passport uses the staffed lane · 2023-11-30
How early to arrive	Station hours and security times are not published. There is no immigration hall here: Hong Kong trains clear at West Kowloon, whose port runs 06:30-23:30 — outside those hours there is no cross-border train · 2025-10-31	No published station hours — plan by your train. The security queue is the slow part here, not the ticket check. At peak a one-way, exit-only passage without security runs from exit A2 into the Line 4/5/6 concourses · 2026-09-23	No published station hours or security times. Since July 2025 intercity, conventional and high-speed passengers share one entrance and the second-floor hall, with gate 6 for intercity (follow the signs on the day). A 2025 summer-peak suspension of card and QR tap-through ended on 31 August 2025 — at busy times check the station notice · 2026-09-23	No published station hours. Arrive early: the waiting hall is small for the crowds it takes, and at Spring Festival and other peaks the station runs flow control · 2026-09-23
Help & money in the station	B2 waiting hall with more than 1,200 seats. No currency exchange in the mainland port area at West Kowloon — the port office points to the 'First' shop on the Hong Kong side, B2, 07:00-23:00. A West Kowloon information desk is on B2; its hours are not published · 2025-10-31	An international service centre on the east square since 13 August 2026, 9:00-19:30 daily, with multilingual help and a currency exchange point next door. Railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306) · 2026-08-14	No English service published for this station; railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306). Currency exchange is at the Luohu crossing next door, including the transport level of the Luohu station complex. Do not take a car offered on the forecourt — complaints 12328 · 2026-09-23	No English service published for this station; railway customer line 12306 (Guangzhou group 020-12306). Currency exchange: not checked · 2026-09-23
Best for	Anyone going to or coming from Hong Kong West Kowloon, especially if you stay in Futian or along Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11	Anyone heading to another mainland city by high-speed rail; a second option for West Kowloon if you are staying in the north	Anyone who has just walked in from Hong Kong at Luohu and is going on to Guangzhou; people staying in Luohu	Only someone whose ticket actually says Shenzhen East — check the train type, since these runs often take a full night

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, Terminal 3：The airport has its own railway station: the Suishen intercity to Guangzhou stops at 'Shenzhen Airport' one level below Terminal 3, reached by escalator or lift from the concourse or the GTC — so you can go straight to Guangzhou without going into the city. Metro Line 11 'Airport' under T3 reaches Futian in about 35 minutes; for Shenzhen North, change at Qianhaiwan for Line 5. Line 1 'Airport East' and 'Airport North' are not the terminal. flying in or out and going straight to Guangzhou.

Luohu Port：The other way to Hong Kong, and it is right next to Shenzhen station: walk across the footbridge at the Luohu crossing (06:30-24:00) to MTR East Rail at Lo Wu, instead of taking the high-speed train from Futian or Shenzhen North. Luohu is not a 240-hour visa-free transit port, and the Hong Kong side shuts first — the last East Rail train towards Lo Wu leaves Admiralty at 23:01. Luohu the crossing, Shenzhen station and Luohu metro station are three different places on one block. walking across to Hong Kong on the MTR rather than by high-speed train. → See “Which Crossing to Hong Kong from Shenzhen?”

One by one

Futian Station

福田站

The Hong Kong station: 14 minutes to West Kowloon at the fastest, under the centre of the CBD, with Metro Lines 2, 3 and 11 one level up. Immigration is not done here — both sides clear at West Kowloon under co-location, so the 06:30-23:30 port hours are the hours of your train, and there is no currency exchange on the mainland side there. The name is the trap: a 'Futian' ticket means this station, not Futian Port 2.9 km away. For Guangzhou or anywhere further north, check your ticket — many trains use Shenzhen North. For the Hong Kong trip by train, and anyone staying in the centre.

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Shenzhen North Station

深圳北站

The station for the rest of China: 848 high-speed trains a day against 246 at Shenzhen station and 216 at Futian, and direct trains to West Kowloon too (18 minutes at the fastest). It is out in Longhua, and it is really two stations — exits A1/A2 for the east square with Metro Lines 4, 5 and 6, buses and taxis, B1/B2 for the west square and ride-hailing — so choose your exit before you follow the crowd. It is also the only one of the four with a published international service centre and exchange point, on the east square, 9:00-19:30. Do the 12306 passport verification before the day; you cannot buy until it passes. For any high-speed trip beyond Shenzhen.

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Shenzhen Station (Luohu)

深圳站（罗湖）

The Guangzhou station for anyone at Luohu: land from Hong Kong on foot at the crossing, walk about five minutes, and be on an intercity to Guangzhou East within the hour — 12 non-stop trains a day, 63 minutes at the fastest. It is not 'the slow-train station' any more (high-speed trains started here on 10 January 2022), but the national hub is still Shenzhen North, and there is no train to Hong Kong from here: the through train is suspended, and the way south is the Luohu crossing next door. Intercity passengers use gate 6. Ignore the touts on the forecourt. For Hong Kong to Guangzhou via Luohu, and anyone staying in Luohu.

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Shenzhen East Station (Buji)

深圳东站（布吉）

The station you end up at by accident. It is on this page because 'Shenzhen East' on a ticket is one character away from the other three, and it is at Buji in Longgang, not in the centre, running 60 conventional trains a day, much slower than high-speed — long-distance runs often take a full night or even a day. If your plan is Guangzhou, Xiamen, Shanghai or Beijing in a day, this is the wrong station; if you booked it by mistake, Line 5 gets you to Shenzhen North in 8 stops. Old maps may use 'Shenzhen East' for today's Shenzhen Pingshan station. For almost no visitor; check that your ticket really says it.

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Verified 2026-09-23