West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in Hong Kong File photo: VCG

 

High-speed rail services will resume taking passengers between Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station and the mainland's Futian Station in South China's Guangdong Province starting Sunday after a three-year suspension due to COVID-19, the Global Times learned from China Railway Guangzhou Group on Thursday.

In the preliminary stage of resuming service of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the railway department will arrange  an average of 38 cross-border bullet trains every day from West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to four stations in Guangdong Province.

Among the 38 trains, six will head to and return from the new Guangzhou East Station, with eight traveling between West Kowloon and Guangzhou South, 10 between West Kowloon and Shenzhen and 14 between West Kowloon and Futian. 

Passengers can book the tickets from 12pm on Thursday via official booking website or the app or at the railway stations, said China Railway Guangzhou Group. A negative nucleic acid testing result taken within 48 hours is required upon boarding. 

According to Lam Sai-hung, the HKSAR Secretary for Transport and Logistics, there will be up to 5,000 train tickets per day from West Kowloon heading north to the four stations in the mainland, as well as 5,000 tickets in each day toward Hong Kong.

"We will review the operation flow and tourist demand to decide if we need to sell more tickets and resume the long-haul trains. There's no timetable for the resumption of long-haul trains and we are currently talking with the mainland's relevant departments," said Lam.

The resumption of high-speed rail service came a week after the border between the mainland and Hong Kong reopened on January 8 with the daily quota of up to 50,000 visitors able to travel in either direction without quarantine via the three land crossings at Shenzhen Bay Port, Lok Ma Chau Station and Man Kam To. 

Travelers taking the cross-border train from West Kowloon Station are not subject to the 50,000 daily quota. "As long as they can buy a ticket, they are free to cross the border," Lam said.