High-speed rail line to mainland China and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge get record passenger numbers during Lunar New Year holiday
- Third day of new year topples day-old highs
- Numbers on train line even exceed Hong Kong government’s estimate for daily users during peak season
Hong Kong’s newest links to mainland China had another bumper day on Thursday, with passenger numbers setting records for the second consecutive day during Lunar New Year.
But a false alarm at the local end of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge caused a brief shock for scores of visitors on Friday morning, while glitches in the shuttle bus ticketing system led to crowds of passengers being stranded for hours at the Zhuhai bridge port across the border.
At the West Kowloon terminal of the high-speed rail line to mainland China, the Immigration Department recorded nearly 104,200 travellers to and from the city on Thursday – the third day of Lunar New Year.
That was up from just over 96,000 the previous day. Both numbers exceeded the Hong Kong government’s estimate of 90,100 daily users during peak season.
The same day at the 55km bridge, almost 159,800 people arrived at and departed the local port, another daily record, and up from 139,800 on Wednesday.
The two links – both opened in the second half of 2018 – were among popular points of entry as the city welcomed hundreds of thousands of mainland visitors during the festive period, which ends on Sunday.