Imagine taking high-speed trains with a monthly pass like subways, hopping on a random carriage, and sitting anywhere. If there are no seats available, standing is also an option. Such a vision might just come to pass next year in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.
Liu Chun-san, deputy head of Hong Kong’s Transport and Logistics Bureau, has told HK legislators that a SAR government team will handle the "metroization" of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed trains.
The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line is only 141 kilometers. It opened in September 2018 and was soon suspended as the pandemic stopped anyone from going anywhere for three years.
On January 15, short-distance services on the Hong Kong section resumed, with a daily limit of 10,000 tickets. On April 1, long-distance services fully resumed.
Since then, passenger flow at West Kowloon station has increased considerably, with more than 90,000 passengers using the station daily in the run up to the May Day holiday.
