Shenzheners' long-awaited new rail link with Hong Kong will open in the middle of this month offering an alternative to the busy Luohu border point.

Both the new Futian Checkpoint building and Lok Ma Chau spur line of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) will open — six weeks later than the original plan of marking the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland.

The new link is aimed at relieving the congestion of cross-boundary passengers at Luohu and Huanggang and coping with the growth in cross-boundary rail passenger traffic as both trade and commuting between the two cities increase.

Passengers from Shenzhen will leave the city’s Metro Line 4 at Huanggang Station to pass through the Futian Checkpoint and cross the Shenzhen River to Hong Kong’s Lok Ma Chau terminus where they will be able to join Kowloon-bound trains on the 7.4-km spur line. The line joins the existing KCR East Rail at Sheung Shui.

The mainland exit clearing hall, on the third floor of the Futian Checkpoint building, will have 78 gates including 20 DIY exit points, while the entry hall, on the second floor of the checkpoint, will have 68 gates, of which 20 will be DIY.

The checkpoint has been designed for a daily passenger flow of 250,000, similar to that at the Luohu Checkpoint. The Futian Checkpoint will initially be open from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with opening hours extended to midnight in the future.

The joint opening dates of both the checkpoint and spur line were announced after Guangdong and Hong Kong governments jointly announced their agreement on the route for the new planned Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express rail link.

Editor: Donald