Around 75,000 passengers travelled through the controversial joint checkpoint, with over 42,000 mainland visitors travelling into Hong Kong, while around 33,000 Hong Kongers journeyed over the border.
The inaugural 26-kilometre high-speed train trip from the Hong Kong West Kowloon station over the border into China on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link took off successfully on Sunday, September 23, 2018.
Around 75,000 passengers travelled through the joint checkpoint, with over 42,000 mainland visitors travelling into Hong Kong, while around 33,000 Hong Kongers journeyed over the border.
But the US$10.8 billion rail project, which links Hong Kong to 25,000 kilometre of Chinese high-speed rail network and directly to 44 destinations, experienced some nagging issues at ticket counters in West Kowloon Terminus, as well as confusion over baggage size limits and inadequately signed compartments. Despite small hiccups, most passengers reported a smooth journey. Authorities were also quick to react to problems. For example, when passengers faced lengthy queues, two more counters were subsequently added on Monday to alleviate crowding issues.
To give passengers even more reasons to smile, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort also opened the ‘Magic Gateway’ Guest Service Center at West Kowloon Station on the same day as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link to offer guests a series of services unique to Disney, such as in-town check-ins, baggage transfers and hotel reservations.
Overall, the journey was heralded a success by all the lawmakers on board, including Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong, who said, “I note there were still some teething problems. But for such a large infrastructure project, especially a cross-border one, not all problems can be dealt with by us alone. The ticketing system involves the [mainland side]. MTR staff will review and see what improvements can be made in future.”
The much-touted non-stop trip to Guangzhou South was a bit slower than its 47-minute promise, one passenger reporting the journey took eight minutes longer. And while the train will reach speeds of up to 200km/h, only three of the 34 daily trains are non-stop to Guangzhou South.
It is expected that the volume of passengers travelling south from the mainland will be much heavier than those heading north from Hong Kong.
In terms of pricing, a second class ticket to Shenzhen is priced at HK$86, Guangzhou at HK$247, and Beijing at HK$1,237.
Linking Hong Kong with the greater bay area, where 68 million live, creates a potential GDP of US$1.5 trillion. The link will also bring 270 million people to within a four-hour train ride of Hong Kong, likely helping the city achieve its goal of 60 million arrivals.
Later this year, the upcoming Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will also boost Hong Kong’s infrastructure and links to the Greater Bay Area.