Guangzhou-bound train service resumes

Last updated at 3.39pm: Through-trains between Hong Kong and Guangzhou started running again on Friday afternoon after emergency repair work on the mainland section forced a four-hour suspension.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp (KCRC), operator of the cross-border train services, said Guangdong?s railway authorities on Friday morning warned them of the emergency repair work.

All through-trains were suspended for four hours, until shortly after 1pm, when the KCRC announced that Guangzhou-bound train services would gradually resume.

The first Guangzhou-bound train to set out from Hung Hom following the disruption departed at 1.25pm. The travelling time was expected to be longer than normal, the KCRC said.

It was still unclear when Hong Kong-bound trains would resume. The rail operator said it was awaiting further notice from mainland railway authorities.

The suspension was expected to also affect Hong Kong-Beijing trains, which would pass Guangdong, the KCRC said.

Traffic between Hong Kong and neighbouring Guangdong has become increasingly busy in recent years. Many Hong Kong people go to the mainland to conduct business, while mainlanders come to Hong Kong on leisure trips.

Cable TV showed many tourists stranded at the Hung Hom railway terminal on Friday morning. Some, who had planned to travel by train, had to switch to cross-border buses.

A Guangzhou-bound train which departed from Hung Hom at 9.10am was stopped when it arrived at the Lo Wu border checkpoint. Buses were arranged to take commuters across the border.

Passengers expresssed frustration with the delays.

Michelle Liang from Guangzhou arrived in Hong Kong about 3pm, after being stranded for three hours in the Guangzhou train station. 'It has caused me some inconvenience, but at least I made it to Hong Kong,' she said.

Ms Liang said she was not told the reason for the sudden closure of tracks on the mainland side of the line.

Daniel Getachew, a businessman from Ethiopia, said he had wasted half his seven-day trip in the region waiting for the train.

He said he had failed to obtain information on the availability of train services from the KCRC.