The Hong Kong Government published a Gazette notice on September 18, 2026, authorising the railway scheme for the Hong Kong Section of the Northern Link (NOL) Spur Line, according to the Government's announcement. The authorisation was made by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics under the Railways Ordinance. The notice states that no objection to the scheme for the Hong Kong Section was received during the gazettal period.

The NOL Spur Line is described as an underground railway of about 6 kilometres in total, comprising a Hong Kong section of about 5km and a Shenzhen section of about 1km. It is planned to start from San Tin Station on the Main Line and establish three new stations: two in the Hong Kong section at Chau Tau of the San Tin Technopole and the Loop, and one in the Shenzhen section at the new Huanggang Port. The line is intended to serve local commuting and cross-boundary travel, linking the metro networks of Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Following authorisation, the announcement said construction would begin as soon as practicable, with the aim of commissioning the Spur Line together with the NOL Main Line by 2034 or earlier. It estimated that travel time between San Tin and the new Huanggang Port would then be about 11 minutes.