From the outside the streamlined shape and orange and silver colour was appealing to visitors, with operators anticipating around 4,000 over the weekend.
Hong Kong’s MTR Corp’s open day last weekend revealed features of the future high-speed, cross-border trains running between Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
From the outside the streamlined shape and orange and silver colour was appealing to visitors, with operators anticipating around 4,000 over the weekend.
On the inside, two types of sockets will make charging easy for both Hong Kong and mainland passengers, while reversible seats will offer sociability or privacy, and reading lights will minimise light pollution at night.
The trains have been dreamed up by French designers and made in China, and are being tested for speed (they will travel at 200km/h but have a maximum speed of 300km/h), as well as control and power, signalling and communications.
“The tests are going well. We haven’t found any major problems so far,” said Simon Tang, general manager of the project.
He added the project is currently 95% complete and should meet its deadline in the third quarter of 2018.
The controversial immigration checkpoint gives mainland authorities the majority of the jurisdiction at the West Kowloon terminus in Hong Kong, which opponents say contradicts Article 18 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law. Activists from the Co-location Concern Group demonstrated at the event on Saturday.