The Hong Kong government announced that, after coordinating with the Guangdong and Shenzhen provincial governments and obtaining approval from the central government, the West Kowloon Port of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express (XRL) Rail Link and the Hong Kong section of the XRL will resume services from next Sunday (15th). Initial departures include services between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Futian, Shenzhen North and Guangzhou South Stations, as well as services to and from Guangzhou East. The Secretary of Transport and Logistics said in a meeting with the media this morning (12) that the total number of tickets sold in the initial phase is 10,000, of which 5,000 are for the north and 5,000 for the south, and it is not reservation required. He also said that the demand for train services between Guangzhou East and Hong Kong has always been high and it is estimated that they will be very popular, especially tourist attractions such as M+ and the Palace Museum near West Kowloon Station will also increase the attractiveness. of high-speed rail services.
Lin Xu stressed that in terms of direct trains, the authorities will continue to review the operation of the high-speed rail at Guangzhou East Station and review the direction of existing train services according to the current situation. Since the long-distance bus involves many and long distances, it takes more time to contact the relevant mainland authorities. It is reiterated that depending on the operation of West Kowloon Station, the long-distance bus service will be resumed one after the ‘other, but at the moment there is no timetable for the bus to open.
Lin Weiqiang, chairman of the Federation of Railway Unions, said in a radio program that the manpower shortage in the initial stage of the resumption of operations, the MTR needs to deploy more station personnel to assist in support, which will exacerbate the shortage problem of manpower at some stations, and staff may need to relocate or work overtime to support the station’s situation, hopes MTR Corporation hires more staff as soon as possible. Lin Xu stressed that it is currently unknown how the long-distance rides will be arranged. The high-speed rail has been in trials since this Sunday (8), with more than 10 trains running each day. The situation is regular and there is no difference from the previous operation. However, it may take some time for Hong Kong citizens to adjust to the e-tickets prevalent on the Mainland.
Councilor Tian Beichen, who was present at the same meeting, believes that the service to Guangzhou East has replaced the intercity train, and the two inspections in one place can save half an hour. If there are no accidents, 38 train pairs can be opened every day at the start of the resumption of transportation. He also pointed out that he strives to have a Hong Kong-Guangzhou East Express train every day (direct to the intermediate station), and the journey only takes 70 to 75 minutes to “pass” through Guangzhou.
