Some of those lining up told the Post they had not travelled to mainland China since the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 and felt crossing by the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link was more convenient than going through the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint.

Connie Lam, a 41-year-old trader who was first in line, said she had started queuing up at around 8am and planned to buy four tickets so her family could travel to Futian, a district in Shenzhen, on January 18.

“I couldn’t sleep, I was really excited, I felt that I had to buy the tickets today,” she said.

Lam said she had not visited the mainland in more than three years and wanted to cross the border to see friends and other family members.

“I want to see my parents … I think I will hug them the minute I see them,” she added.

The 41-year-old lost her front spot when other travellers rushed ahead at 2pm, but was still able to get her tickets more than an hour later.

5,000 tickets a day go on sale for Hong Kong high-speed rail to mainland China

The high-speed rail terminus will be the latest border checkpoint to resume operations since the Lok Ma Chau rail station, the Man Kam To crossing, the Macau Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal opened last Sunday for quarantine-free travel.

Just three control points never closed during the pandemic – those at Shenzhen Bay Port, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Hong Kong International Airport.

Maggie Hong, who joined the queue at 10.30am, said she intended to visit her 75-year-old mother, who had recently fallen ill, in their hometown in Guangdong province.

“I’ve been trying to buy tickets while standing in line, but they want me to register for an account on 12306 and it’s so confusing,” the 46-year-old said, referring to the website of mainland travel provider China Railway.

“I hope I can get tickets in person, it’s easier this way.”

A Post reporter observed that tickets were available on the website from 12pm but the number of available bookings dropped once sales got under way at the high-speed rail terminus.

The MTR Corporation said 39 trains would travel to the mainland on a daily basis under the service resumption, including six to the new Guangzhou East station, while another 38 will arrive in Hong Kong each day.

Lawmaker and former railway boss Michael Tien Puk-sun said the six trips per day to the new station would be barely enough to meet the high demand amid the holiday period.

“There are so many trains to Futian and Shenzhen, areas easily accessible via the Lok Ma Chau border, while there are so few trains to Guangzhou East, which is a huge transport hub,” he said.

“Authorities should change some Futian departures to Guangzhou East to meet the high demand.”

Hong Kong to relaunch high-speed rail service to mainland China on Sunday

At the West Kowloon terminus, a homemaker surnamed Leung was among the first to get her hands on tickets after waiting since 9am. She said would be travelling to Guangzhou on January 19, three days shy of the Lunar New Year.

“I’m so happy to be able to buy these. My son told me that many tickets are already sold out online, so I was scared I wouldn’t be able to get any,” she said.

But the process was not so smooth for other prospective travellers, who raised their voices at MTR staff who struggled to process a large number of customer queries.

Among those waiting to use the automated ticketing machines, Sophie Cheung said she was trying her luck at getting a time-saving train journey to Shenzhen, before taking another to Fujian province, instead of crossing at Lok Ma Chau.

“Getting to the Lok Ma Chau border already takes over an hour, and it will take an hour to travel from Lok Ma Chau to Shenzhen North station, where I will take another train to Fujian. The high-speed rail is so much faster,” she said.

Additional reporting by Kahon Chan.