The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link carried more than 16 million passengers in the first six months of the year. The MTR Corporation reported the figure on Thursday as the highest since the link opened in 2018.
The MTR Corporation, which operates the 26km Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, said patronage rose more than 10 per cent year on year. Average daily trips exceeded 92,000.
Demand came mainly from Hongkongers travelling to Shenzhen and beyond for leisure. Flows were higher on weekends and public holidays.
A single-day record of nearly 150,000 trips occurred on April 4 during the Easter and Ching Ming Festival holiday. In response to rising demand, MTR Corp is opening an upgraded business-class lounge at West Kowloon terminus with Plaza Premium Group.
Michael Tien Puk-sun, former chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, said the future of MTR Corp would have a lot to do with cross-border traffic.