China, Hong Kong resume high-speed rail link
Surge in travel expected ahead of Lunar New Year holidays
China resumed yesterday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier.
The reopening comes amid a massive wave of infections nationwide and a day after authorities said nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital, following last month’s abrupt Uturn on “zero-Covid” policy. Despite the infections, some passengers voiced excitement and relief about being able to more easily return to their hometowns in time for the approaching Lunar New Year.
“The resumption of the highspeed railway has made it very convenient for us and has brought us closer to home,” said Mang Lee, 33, who was among dozens going through border checks at Hong Kong’s West Kowloon station before boarding trains.
“For the past three years, due to the pandemic, it has not been easy to enter China in any way,” added Meng, originally from the southern city of Guangzhou. “I have not been able to go home for a long time.”
A surge in travel ahead of the holiday celebrations set to begin on Jan. 21, as hundreds of millions of people return home from cities to small towns and rural areas, has fuelled worries about more infections. Saturday’s updated death toll was a huge increase over previous figures. The move was welcomed by the World Health Organisation, although the body called for more detailed data.
Operations at West Kowloon station have been smooth, with a flow of about 1,400 passengers by 10am, said Cheung Chikeung, head of operator MTR Corp’s cross-boundary operations. Tickets for nearly all trains were sold out yesterday, a display at the station showed, a Reuters witness said.
The reopening will initially be just for short journeys, MTR chairman Rex Auyeung told reporters at the station.