Full use of real-name electronic ticket union material manpower shortage in the early stage of re-transportation
[The Epoch Times, January 13, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporters Ye Zeyu and Zeng Xiaoxun from Hong Kong) The Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail will resume service on Sunday (15th). The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Lam Shih-hung, said yesterday that the upper limit of high-speed rail tickets is 5,000 each for the southbound and northbound lines each day, and reservations are not required for tickets. The MTR stated that the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station fully adopts electronic tickets. Passengers must provide their ID cards to buy tickets with their real names. Online ticket sales will start at 12 noon.
Depending on the operation of West Kowloon Station and passenger demand, it will be decided to increase the number of tickets. As for the long-distance train service, there are many stations involved, and more time is needed to contact the relevant units. The service will be resumed in succession later, and there is no timetable for the time being.
Lin Shixiong also said that after the Guangzhou East Station is added to the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail, the authorities will review the through train service according to the actual situation and needs.
The MTR stated that the high-speed rail can only go to short-distance destinations in the initial stage of resumption, and added 3 short-distance stations, including Dongguan, Dongguan South and Guangzhou East Stations. Passengers heading to medium and long-distance stations can transfer via Shenzhen North or Guangzhou South.
The Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail has fully introduced electronic tickets to replace paper tickets, and implements real-name ticket purchases. When purchasing tickets, you need to provide a certificate. The system will link the certificate and ticket information, and the certificate can be used to enter the gate. Hsu Chun-sing, MTR acting director of operations (high-speed rail), said that the mainland railways have fully adopted electronic tickets.
The high-speed rail opened for ticket sales at 12:00 noon yesterday. Passengers can register as users of the China Railway 12306 website or mobile application, and provide a mainland, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan mobile phone number with SMS function to purchase tickets, select seats, refund tickets or change tickets. Tickets can be purchased at designated travel agencies. On-site ticket sales will be available at West Kowloon Station from 2pm. Yang Meizhen, Director of Passenger Services of MTR Hong Kong, added that MTR’s high-speed rail online ticketing website will be suspended.
Passengers are not allowed to bring sanitizers or sprays
In order to cooperate with electronic tickets, West Kowloon Station has been re-arranged. In the past, there were staff checking tickets and documents for passengers, but now there are 6 staff auxiliary channels and 10 self-service channels. It only takes a few seconds to complete the real-name authentication and gate entry procedures, and The number of gate facilities is twice as large as before. In addition, a large-scale X-ray inspection machine has been installed at West Kowloon Station to inspect luggage, and the location of the aisle has also been re-arranged to facilitate passengers with large luggage to take the lift.
The MTR reminds that passengers on the high-speed rail are prohibited from carrying disinfectants or disinfectant sprays. Passengers should not bring alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Passengers who need it can bring disinfectant wipes. Passengers on the high-speed rail are required to wear masks at all times.
In addition, since the mainland requires immigrants to hold a 48-hour negative nucleic acid test certificate and fill in an electronic health declaration form, the West Kowloon Station will check the passenger’s nucleic acid test certificate and the QR code of the electronic health declaration to ensure that passengers have sufficient information for transit. Passengers should Allow ample time for border crossing procedures.
From re-transportation day to New Year’s Eve
Tickets to Guangzhou are sold out
West Kowloon Station started to buy tickets at 2:00 p.m., and a large number of citizens were waiting outside the station before 2:00 p.m. Some citizens said that buying tickets on the spot was more secure, and worried that online ticket purchases would encounter network problems; in addition, many citizens expressed that they could not log in at noon When buying tickets on the China Railway 12306 website, some citizens criticized that there are not enough 5,000 tickets for each day going south and north. It is reported that the mobile application of China Railway 12306 did not refresh the train number and ticket purchase page until about 1 o’clock, and the web page did not refresh successfully until about 1 o’clock.
Our reporter logged on to the relevant webpage in the afternoon to check the reservation status. The system shows that there are 14 trains from Hong Kong to Guangzhou every day, of which 6 trains go to Guangzhou East Railway Station and 8 trains go to Guangzhou South Railway Station. As of 3:30 p.m., all tickets departing from West Kowloon to Guangzhou have been sold out from the day when the high-speed rail resumed operation (15th) to the 30th day of the new year (21st), and only single-digit tickets remain on the first day of the new year (22nd). ticket.
As for the trains from West Kowloon to Shenzhen, there are 42 trains per day, 23 trains to Shenzhen North every day, and the remaining 19 trains to Futian. All sold out.
Trade unions say high-speed rail trials run smoothly
However, manpower is tight in the initial stage of resumption
Lin Weiqiang, chairman of the Federation of Railway Trade Unions, said in a Hong Kong TV program yesterday that the trial operation of the high-speed rail has started a few days ago, and the general situation is smooth. However, he predicted that manpower support will be needed in the early stage of the resumption of high-speed rail. However, the current MTR manpower shortage requires transfer from other stations and overtime work to replace positions.
As for the real-name e-tickets that the high-speed rail will link to passengers’ IDs, Lin Weiqiang said that “e-tickets” are already very popular in mainland China, and Hong Kong passengers may need time to adapt. At that time, there will be staff at the station to assist passengers in answering ticketing questions.
Legislative Council member Tian Beichen said in the same program that it is estimated that 38 pairs of trains can be opened every day in the early stage of the high-speed rail, but he believes that the seats may not be full, because the current daily quota for customs clearance is not full, and he expects to resume long-distance high-speed rail after the Spring Festival travel rush Wire.
KMB announces reopening of W2 route
KMB announced a few days ago that it will resume the round-trip bus service of Route W2 from West Kowloon Station to Lam Tin from Sunday, and adjust the route to depart from West Kowloon Station to travel between Kowloon Bay Business District, Kwun Tong and Lam Tin area. There will be special departures from Millennium City at 5:20 am, 5:55 am and 6:25 am daily to West Kowloon Station Bus Terminus.
KMB has also strengthened the W3 line service between Sheung Shui and West Kowloon Station, extending the service time to most of the daytime service from Monday to Friday, so as to facilitate express direct access to the high-speed rail for passengers in North District, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Tai Kok Tsui Hong Kong West Kowloon Station; or at the Fanling Highway Interchange Station or Tsing Sha Highway Interchange Station, transfer to Line W3 by “paying the difference”. ◇
Editor in charge: Li Wei