Shenzhen North Railway Station (), also known as Shenzhenbei Railway Station, is a major China Railway High-speed station in Longhua District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It is served by the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Hangzhou–Fuzhou–Shenzhen railway, the Ganzhou–Shenzhen high-speed railway and Shenzhen Metro Lines 4, 5 and 6. The national-rail station has 11 platforms and 20 tracks, while the adjoining metro station has elevated platforms for Lines 4 and 6 and underground platforms for Line 5.
The station was planned under the names New Shenzhen station, Shenzhen New Passenger Station and Longhua station before receiving its present name in 2008. The metro interchange opened on 22 June 2011, followed by the high-speed rail station on 26 December 2011 and the Line 6 metro platforms on 18 August 2020. By 2025 Shenzhen North recorded 126 million annual passenger arrivals and departures, ranking third among railway stations in China, and China Railway implemented a July 2026 timetable under which the station was scheduled for 848 EMU train movements a day.
Shenzhen North is built as an integrated transport hub. It connects the high-speed rail concourse and platforms with Shenzhen Metro, local buses, taxis, private-vehicle parking and a long-distance coach station without a traditional freestanding station square. The station also has in-station transfer passages in the north and south exit corridors, allowing passengers who already hold onward train tickets to return directly to the waiting hall instead of leaving and re-entering the station.
History
Planning and design After the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1980, Shenzhen railway station was the city's principal railway passenger terminal. Its constrained site near the city centre and the boundary with Hong Kong made large-scale expansion difficult, and by the late 1990s Shenzhen began planning a second passenger railway station. Before the new terminal was completed, many long-distance trains were shifted to Shenzhen West railway station.
In November 2003, the Shenzhen Municipal Government completed the Transport Plan for Shenzhen's Second Railway Passenger Station. The plan proposed routing the Beijing-Guangzhou passenger dedicated line and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line together through the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section, forming what was then described as the Beijing-Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong passenger dedicated line, and placed the interchange with the Xiamen-Shenzhen Railway in the Longhua expansion area. In 2005 Shenzhen and the Ministry of Railways completed broader railway-hub plans and reached agreement on the station site and the alignment of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line within Shenzhen.
Between July and October 2005, the municipal government and the Ministry of Railways held an international consultation for the station's integrated hub plan. Four foreign design firms and three domestic railway survey and design institutes formed four design teams and submitted preliminary schemes. The two sides signed a memorandum on station arrangements in August 2006. A hub feasibility study began in June 2007, and the railway station building's preliminary design was completed in November of that year. Coordination took longer because Shenzhen and the railway ministry differed on how the railway station should connect with urban transport; the final scheme was settled in 2008.
Renaming During planning and design, the project appeared under several names, including New Shenzhen Station, Shenzhen New Passenger Station and Longhua Railway Station. On 23 December 2008, the Shenzhen Municipal Planning Bureau announced that the new station would be named Shenzhen North. The freight and marshalling station on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Railway that had previously used the Shenzhen North name reverted to its earlier name, Sungang station.
Metro station opening The second phase of Shenzhen Metro Line 4 opened on 16 June 2011, but the Line 4 platforms at Shenzhen North remained closed because Line 5 had not yet opened. Most Line 4 trains passed through without stopping, and the few trains that stopped did not open their doors. The metro station formally opened on 22 June 2011 with the opening of Line 5. For about half a year before high-speed rail service began, the hub functioned only as a metro interchange and bus-transfer point while the national-rail station remained under construction.
High-speed rail opening The opening of the high-speed rail station was postponed several times: from before the November 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games to 28 December 2010, then to 8 August 2011, and finally to 26 December 2011. The delays followed broader reassessment of high-speed rail construction in China after the 2011 Wenzhou train collision, although trial running on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line continued for several months.
The opening ceremony for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and for Shenzhen North station was held on the morning of 26 December 2011. Minister of Railways Sheng Guangzu, Guangdong party secretary Wang Yang, former Guangdong governor Huang Huahua and acting governor Zhu Xiaodan attended. The first train, G6126, left Shenzhen North at 10:40 and arrived at Guangzhou South 28 minutes later.
At opening, Shenzhen North served only trains to Guangzhou South. Passengers continuing to stations on the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed line had to buy separate tickets and transfer at Guangzhou South. On 1 April 2012, through services between the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong and Wuhan-Guangzhou lines began, adding 20 pairs of trains from Shenzhen North to Wuhan and Changsha South and ending the earlier transfer-card arrangement at Guangzhou South.
Later timetable changes added services to more parts of China. The Xiamen–Shenzhen railway opened on 28 December 2013, extending high-speed and EMU services eastward along the coast. In December 2020, a capacity project added six entry and exit tracks at the station.
Station structure Shenzhen North is in southeastern Longhua District, about from central Shenzhen. The site lies near the city's geographic and population centre, in the former Longhua second-line expansion area, and was selected for its development potential.
The hub is divided into the high-speed rail station building, East Square and West Square. It occupies about of land and has about of floor area. The high-speed railway runs north–south with the station building above the tracks. East Square is organized mainly around public transport, while West Square focuses on private cars and long-distance coaches. The main pedestrian traffic level is a platform at an elevation of , which ties together the national-rail station, the two squares and surrounding development.
Line 4 and Line 6 of the Shenzhen Metro pass through East Square on an elevated alignment broadly parallel with the high-speed rail tracks and under the station's large roof. Line 5 and the Pingnan Railway cross the hub from east to west below the national-rail station; the Pingnan Railway has no platforms there. Taxis and buses use dedicated access roads within the hub, while coaches connect to nearby expressways, reducing conflicts with surrounding urban traffic.
Site layout
ElevationWest Square PlazaHigh speed rail stationEast Square Plaza106m Line 4, Shenzhen Metro platformsF4100m Commercial areaLine 4 and Line 6, Shenzhen Metro concourseCustomer service centerF390m High speed railEast Square platformLocal bus (arrival)F2Coach stationWaiting room, ticket officeTaxi (Arrival)84mTaxi parkingHigh speed rail platformsTransfer hallLocal bus (departure)F1Private vehicle parkingTaxi (departure)78mPrivate vehicle parkingHigh speed rail arrivals hallTransfer hallLocal bus (departure)B1Taxi (departure)Private vehicle parking68m Pinghu–Nanshan railway – no platform access Line 5, Shenzhen Metro platformsB262.5m Xinqu Blvd
Station building
The national-rail station building has a floor area of about . It uses an elevated over-track waiting-hall arrangement, with east and west station buildings connected by the hall above the tracks. Commuter-style C-series trains toward Shenzhen Pingshan, Huiyang and Futian use a dedicated waiting room on the basement level.
Unlike most large railway stations in mainland China, Shenzhen North was designed around an "upper-entry, upper-exit" passenger flow, in which both entering and exiting high-speed rail passengers are organized through the elevated traffic level. The design reduced the need for a large traditional forecourt and allowed transfers among railway, metro, buses, taxis and coaches within the hub. In 2024 the station extended its in-station transfer route into the waiting hall, shortening walking distance for transferring passengers. By 2025, the rebuilt transfer passage handled more than 60,000 transfer passengers on an average day and up to 80,000 on peak days.
Platform layout CRH
The China Railway section has 11 platforms and 20 tracks, arranged from east to west as nine island platforms and two side platforms. Platforms 8 to 15 are assigned to cross-boundary services. Because some through Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong trains do not stop at Shenzhen North, safety barriers are installed beside the main-line tracks at platforms 11 and 12. Some trains between Hong Kong West Kowloon and Fuzhou, Xiamen, Chaoshan or Shantou reverse direction at Shenzhen North and therefore remain in the station for a longer operational stop.
GConcourseLobby levelHigh speed rail ticket office, ticket vending machines, ticket gates and waiting areasrestaurants, toilets2F Platforms←Futian/HK directionGuangzhou South/Guangmingcheng direction→Side Platform1 PlatformTrains2 PlatformTrainsIsland platform3 PlatformTrains4 PlatformTrainsIsland platform5 PlatformTrains6 PlatformTrainsIsland platform7 PlatformTrains8 PlatformCross Border Trains to/from Hong KongIsland platform9 PlatformCross Border Trains to/from Hong Kong10 PlatformCross Border Trains to/from Hong KongIsland platform11 PlatformGuangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong XRL to West Kowloon12 PlatformGuangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong XRL to Guangzhou SouthIsland platform13 PlatformCross Border Trains to/from Hong Kong14 PlatformCross Border Long Distance Trains to/from mainland Chinese citiesIsland platform15 PlatformCross Border Long Distance Trains to/from mainland Chinese cities16 PlatformTrainsIsland platform17 PlatformTrains18 PlatformTrainsIsland platform19 PlatformTrains20 PlatformTrainsSide Platform
Shenzhen Metro
5FPlatformsPlatform← towards Science Museum (Meilingguan)Island platform, doors will open on the leftPlatform→ towards Songgang (Hongshan) → Platform ← towards Futian Checkpoint (Baishilong)Island platform, doors will open on the left Platform → towards Niuhu (Hongshan) →4F Concourse Lobby of Line 4 and Line 6Customer service, shops, vending machines, ATMs, full body scanners (except transfer passage)Transfer passage between Line 4, Line 5 and Line 63F West Square PlazaShenzhen North railway station waiting room, ticket office, exits2F Shenzhen North railway station platformsGPedestrian roadHigh speed rail arrivals hallB1FConcoursePedestrian roadPark, pedestrian business street, parking, lobby of Line 5, full body scanners (except transfer passage)Transfer passage between Line 4, Line 5 and Line 6B2FPlatforms -Pinghu–Nanshan Railway (no stop)Side platform, doors will open on the rightPlatform ← towards Chiwan (Changlingpi)Platform → towards Grand Theater (Minzhi) →Side platform, doors will open on the right -Pinghu–Nanshan Railway (no stop)
Operations Train services