The second railway linking Hong Kong and neighboring Shenzhen city opened to traffic on Wednesday, marking closer ties and cooperation between the two places.

Meanwhile, Futian Port, a new border control point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, was also put into operation to facilitate passenger flow.

"The commissioning of the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and the Futian Port will help relieve the congestion at other land boundary crossings and cater for the increasing cross-boundary traffic demand,"said Henry Tang, chief secretary for Administration of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, at the opening ceremony.

He said Shenzhen and Hong Kong had been working closely to adopt various measures to ensure the smooth flow of people and goods as well as promote social and economic ties.

Tang thanked the Central Government, and the Guangdong provincial and Shenzhen municipal governments for their strong support throughout the planning and construction of the spur line project.

The 7.4-km spur line, diverging from the main railway line north of Sheung Shui Station in northern Hong Kong, provides an alternative crossing for passengers to Shenzhen.