Passengers on high-speed trains between Hong Kong and mainland China will be able to travel in style with decorated cabins featuring beloved cartoon character Doraemon from Saturday.
The MTR Corporation said on Friday the 34 themed trains could help boost the city’s tourism drive, with the playful designs on display across 14 days between Saturday and August 18.
“The cross-boundary train has become some mainland tourists’ first impression of Hong Kong,” said Paul Wong Kah-ming, the chief of the MTR Corp’s cross-boundary segment.
He added the project would “drive more visitors to the city over the summer holidays”.
“And this is the first time we pass the joy represented by Doraemon to the mainland,” he said.
AllRightsReserved, a Hong Kong creative studio, has collaborated with the MTR Corp on the project to create more than 50 designs of the famous Japanese robot cat which are scattered across the interior and exterior of cabins.
Half of the themed trains will travel from Hong Kong’s West Kowloon terminus to Guangzhou South, Shenzhen North and Futian stations, with the other half returning from these destinations to the city.
Passengers can choose to travel on the themed trains, with prices and booking methods remaining the same as regular services.
Passenger Lau Si-man, 30, who travels to Guangzhou once a month with her six-year-old daughter, said she was excited about the collaboration.
“Even the head rest covers were painted with different looks of Doraemon,” Lau said.
“If the collaboration happens frequently, I will choose to take high-speed rail to cross the border more often in the future, as my child is really excited about it.”
The initiative is the last in the creative agency’s wider Doraemon collaboration with the MTR Corp, after similar projects to decorate light rail, East Rail line and Airport Express trains.
AllRightsReserved has also worked on projects such as the giant rubber duck placed in Victoria Harbour, and its return last year with a second duck, as well as collaborations with renowned artist Kaws on the mainland and overseas.
The city’s high-speed rail service recorded more than 20 million passengers in 2023 and over 12 million passengers in the first half of this year.
