China News Agency, Hong Kong, January 15th: The first batch of passengers arriving in Hong Kong after the resumption of the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail said they felt the enthusiasm of Hong Kong

　　China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong

　　Orange and silver balloons overlap to form an arched door, and at the top is a Chinese and English "Welcome to Hong Kong" sign.

This is in the arrival hall on the B2 floor of West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong. Yang Runxiong, the director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Lin Shixiong, the director of the Transport and Logistics Bureau, and MTR staff are lined up, waiting under the arched door with souvenir bags The first batch of passengers arriving in Hong Kong by high-speed rail after the epidemic.

　　After three years of suspension, the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail will resume service on the 15th, with a daily limit of 10,000 tickets, 5,000 for the northbound and 5,000 for the southbound.

In the initial stage of resumption, short-distance services between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Futian, Shenzhen North and Guangzhou South will be resumed, and services between Guangzhou East and Guangzhou East will be added.

Intermediate stations include Guangming City, Humen, Qingsheng and the newly added Dongguan South and Dongguan Stations.

After the resumption of the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail, the first batch of passengers departing from West Kowloon Station went to Shenzhen.

Photo by Li Zhihua

　　On the first day of reopening, the first northbound train departed from West Kowloon Station at 7:03 a.m. to Shenzhen North, while the first southbound train arrived at West Kowloon Station from Shenzhen North at 7:42 a.m.

　　At about 7:50 in the morning, the first batch of arriving passengers came out one after another pushing their suitcases. Yang Runxiong shook hands and chatted with many passengers, and presented commemorative gifts, while the MTR staff said in Mandarin: "Welcome, welcome!"

　　Mr. Bu from Shenzhen is engaged in the textile import and export industry. This time he is in Hong Kong mainly for business purposes and will return within the same day.

In fact, after the first stage of "customs clearance" between Hong Kong and the mainland was achieved last week, Mr. Bu came to Hong Kong once via a land port, and this time he experienced the high-speed rail as "smooth and convenient". With additional manpower, the overall customs clearance process is very fast." Mr. Bu said with a smile that he was very happy to be so "welcome in the lane", "I feel the enthusiasm of Hong Kong, and I feel that I am welcomed by Hong Kong."

　　Mr. Liang, who also came to work in Hong Kong from Shenzhen, is expected to stay in Hong Kong for a week.

He told reporters that he never thought that he must buy the first bus, but he was very lucky to get a ticket.

"The high-speed rail (Hong Kong section) has not been opened for three years. This time it feels the same as before. It is very convenient and fast." Mr. Liang once worked in Hong Kong for a period of time. He has many friends and colleagues here. A friend went to a restaurant in Sai Kung to eat seafood. This time, he deliberately set aside time after work to reunite with a group of old friends in Sai Kung.

　　Ms. Yao, who "traveled lightly", arrived in Hong Kong from Shenzhen with only a handbag. She deliberately took the first train to Hong Kong when the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail was opened, in order to experience the "historical moment" of the revival.

Before the epidemic, due to the convenient travel between the two places and relatives in Hong Kong, Ms. Yao often traveled between the two places. Today, in addition to visiting relatives, she also plans to take a few young colleagues to Hong Kong Ocean Park to play, and then return via Futian Port in the evening Shenzhen.

　　On the departure floor upstairs, there were more than 20 passengers waiting in line in front of the ticket office. Mr. Yang was dragging his suitcase and staring at the train information screen, "I want to buy a ticket for Huizhou today." Mr. Yang told reporters that he The plane arrived in Hong Kong from Bangladesh in the early morning and went straight to Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, planning to transfer to the high-speed rail here to go home. "I haven't been home for three years, so I want to go home earlier." But the staff told me that the service to Huizhou has not yet resumed. , Mr. Yang finally decided to take the high-speed rail to Shenzhen and then transfer.

　　Mr. Xu, who was waiting in the departure hall, was also a passenger who transferred from Hong Kong International Airport to the high-speed rail. He had stayed in Thailand for more than ten days earlier, and just in time for the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail to resume, he chose to transfer back to Guangzhou via Hong Kong for the New Year.

After leaving home for a long time, what he misses most is his wife and children at home.

Mr. Xu told the reporter that this is his first visit to Hong Kong, "I feel that the buildings here are very tall, higher than those in Guangzhou, and the development is also very good." More convenient, Mr. Xu said that he plans to take his wife and children to Hong Kong for a good trip in the near future.

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