High-speed railway could face even more delays as doubts emerge on joint immigration checkpoint

Fresh doubts have emerged over the delayed Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou high-speed railway link, after a local deputy to the National People's Congress warned that travelling Hongkongers might not get a joint immigration checkpoint after all.

Michael Tien Puk-sun said Shenzhen had a Plan B in case the mainland and Hong Kong governments failed to set up a joint checkpoint, but he changed his line later and said it was possible for Shenzhen to accommodate a checkpoint if needed.

Tien spoke a day after the Highways Department told lawmakers it was "highly doubtful" that the Hong Kong section of the link, commissioned by the MTR Corporation, could meet its already postponed construction deadline of December 2017.

The planned formation of a joint checkpoint on the Hong Kong side has been mired in unresolved legal and constitutional issues since the previous transport minister, Eva Cheng, said in 2009 that both governments had formed a group to discuss it.

While the project is touted to be able to take commuters from West Kowloon to Guangzhou South in just 48 minutes, critics doubt that people will save much time if they have to get off the train and queue for a second immigration check.

Earlier yesterday, Tien, chairman of the Legislative Council's transport panel, said he understood the mainland side was ready to provide a checkpoint at Shenzhen North station.

"If the [checkpoint] matter cannot be resolved within the next few months, this problem alone can postpone the opening date of the railway to beyond 2017," he told Commercial Radio.