Rail travel between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will enter a new era with the opening of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) on Sept 23.

The Hong Kong section connects Futian Station with the West Kowloon terminus, linking the SAR with the national high-speed rail network, with direct trains to 44 mainland destinations.

The first train from Futian Station to West Kowloon Station will depart at 8:15 am on Sept 23, and the last train will leave at 9:19 pm. The first train from West Kowloon Station to Futian Station will depart at 8:12 a.m. and the last train at 8:23 pm. The interval between each train departure is about 10 to 20 minutes.

Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Hong Kong SAR Government Frank Chan Fan said the first train will depart on Sept 23 from West Kowloon Station for Shenzhen North Station, with the second-class fare fixed at HK$86. The fare between Futian and West Kowloon is 68 yuan (HK$80).

He said direct services to the 44 mainland destinations will cover six short-haul destinations - Futian, Shenzhen North, Guangzhou South and three other stations - and 38 further afield, including Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan.

Tickets went on sale on Sept 10, two weeks ahead of the official launch of the Hong Kong section. Travelers can purchase tickets through www.12306.cn, the official ticket website of China Railway, and www.mtr.com.hk/highspeed, the official ticket website of Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corp, which operates the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail link.

Commuters can also buy tickets at 23 counters at the West Kowloon Station using various payment methods, such as Octopus, Alipay and WeChat Pay, according to MTRC Operations Director Lau Tin-shing.

Passengers can print their tickets at machines with travel permits for Hong Kong and Macao residents, as well as second-generation mainland resident IDs. No more than 10 tickets can be bought at a time.

The Hong Kong-Shenzhen route has nine stations, and trips from West Kowloon to Futian and Shenzhen North stations will be shortened to 14 minutes and 23 minutes, respectively.

A total of 95 pairs of trains, including 82 short-haul pairs running between Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and 13 pairs of long-distance trains, will go into operation, linking Hong Kong with 44 mainland cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanchang, Xiamen, Guiyang and Guilin.

During peak periods, such as holidays and weekends, 127 pairs of trains will be in service.

The trip between Futian and Hong Kong will be cut to 14 minutes. It will take 47 minutes, and 8 hours and 17 minutes to get to Hong Kong from Guangzhou and Shanghai, respectively. The travel time between Beijing and Hong Kong will be cut to nine hours.

Fares from Shenzhen North and Futian stations to the West Kowloon terminus will cost 75 yuan ($11) and 68 yuan, respectively.

Tickets will be priced at HK$80, HK$90, HK$210 and HK$260 for travel from Hong Kong to Futian Station, Shenzhen North, Dongguan's Humen Railway Station and Guangzhou South Station, respectively.

Under the XRL co-location arrangement, which was adopted by the National People's Congress Standing Committee in December last year, the Mainland Port Area at the West Kowloon terminus went into operation earlier this month.

The Mainland Port Area will be managed according to mainland laws.

(HK Edition 09/21/2018 page8)