Railway and bus operators will step up their services from Wednesday to cope with the busy traffic during the National Day break, which runs from Thursday until Oct 7 on the Chinese mainland, with the authorities urging travelers to cross the boundary early to avoid congestion.
The government’s interdepartmental working group on festival arrangements announced on Tuesday that from Thursday until Oct 7, passenger and vehicle traffic at land crossings will significantly increase. The afternoon and evening of Oct 4 will likely be the peak time for inbound travel, and the waiting times for public transport will be longer.
To facilitate the demand for travel, the Mass Transit Railway Corp will enhance the train services on the East Rail Line between Admiralty and Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau Stations at different times from Wednesday until Oct 7, based on demand.
The train service on the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link between Hong Kong West Kowloon and certain mainland stations will operate additional trains.
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The frequencies of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge shuttle bus and the Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus will be increased to about one every minute and one every two minutes, respectively, during peak hours.
The quota of cross-boundary coaches will be increased to strengthen services, and
the frequency of local franchised bus B routes connecting various land checkpoints will also be increased beyond the normal weekend level, the working group announced.
To check waiting times and traffic conditions at various checkpoints, travelers can visit Easy Boundary — the one-stop information platform on immigration clearance — or the HKeMobility app.
The 23-minute National Day Fireworks Display will take place at 8 pm on Thursday to celebrate of the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Special traffic arrangements and road closures will be implemented in phases on Wednesday and Thursday on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon to facilitate the events.
