Fast track to Bay Area integration

Strong performances

During the early stages, 70 pairs of trains will run daily between Hong Kong and Guangzhou on weekdays and 82 pairs on weekends. During peak periods, including public holidays, summer and winter breaks, 114 pairs a day will operate.

Thirteen pairs of direct long-haul trains will also run daily between Hong Kong and major mainland cities.

Hong Kong's Transport and Housing Bureau predicts that short-haul journeys will be the most popular, serving about 83 percent of 80,100 passengers a day this year.

Among the 44 destinations on the XRL, Futian Station in central Shenzhen is forecast to attract nearly half of the travelers, or 38,700 people a day this year. The figure is expected to rise to 59,000 by 2031.

According to the bureau, this forecast is based on the station's location in the central business district of Shenzhen, home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the headquarters of a number of well-known conglomerates as well as the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

By 2031, the bureau forecasts that about 129,000 passengers a day will be using the line. This means that 13 years after it opened, the XRL will serve about 47.2 million passengers a year, or about 70 percent of the 68 million people in the Greater Bay Area.

Even so, the predicted volume is only slightly higher than half of the line's daily maximum capacity, according to the latest figures submitted by the bureau to the Hong Kong Legislative Council.

"In other words, there is ample capacity for the XRL to accommodate more passengers," the bureau said. "Having regard to the fast-growing economic and tourist developments around the short-haul destinations, we are optimistic that the actual patronage of the XRL will exceed the current forecast."

Among those who eagerly looked forward to the new link's launch was Lam, the Hong Kong chief executive, not only because she is one of the most important figures in the XRL's birth in the city, but also a high-speed rail fan.

Recalling a family trip last year by high-speed rail to Guilin, Lam said she will use this form of travel more for business trips.

In an interview with mainland media before the XRL launch, she said that as she has to travel frequently to Shenzhen for meetings with the neighboring city's officials, the new link will be her first choice. "In 14 minutes, I will arrive at my destination - Futian. The time is even shorter than that I spend visiting some of my colleagues' offices in Hong Kong," she said.

The XRL benefits various sectors in Hong Kong, Lam added. It offers the city's young people easier access to pursue careers, study and live on the mainland. For travelers, the high-speed rail "lifestyle" will greatly improve their overall experience, she said.