Tourists from the Chinese mainland arrive at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station during the May Day holiday on May 1, 2023. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)

High-speed rail passengers commuting between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Shenzhen’s Futian Station praised MTR Corporation’s new flexible ticketing arrangement, which came into force on Monday, allowing travelers to make three last-minute changes to their trips within the same day.

The concourse at West Kowloon Station – the Hong Kong terminus of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link – has installed indicators with details of the new arrangement. 

Passengers can change their trip schedules three times, free of charge, and not later than 1 hour after the train’s departure, via the Chinese mainland’s official 12306 ticketing website, or at ticketing machines on the concourses of Hong Kong West Kowloon and Futian stations, and flexi-trip self-service points at West Kowloon Station.

Passengers can change their trip schedules three times, free of charge, and not later than 1 hour after the train’s departure, via the Chinese mainland’s official 12306 ticketing website, or at ticketing machines on the concourses of Hong Kong West Kowloon and Futian stations, and flexi-trip self-service points at West Kowloon Station

Stewart Corbett, a foreigner who works in Shenzhen and lives near Futian Station, said he was happy with the new set-up. He told China Daily before boarding a train for Futian Station that the latest arrangement allows him more time to relax because, previously, he sometimes arrive at the West Kowloon station three hours earlier to avoid missing the train.

“I was almost late on one occasion and had to hurry. I think this new arrangement is very convenient to passengers, especially those who might suddenly have to change their travel plans,” he said.

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Corbett, who needs to travel to the special administrative region once a month to work, usually prefers to travel on the high-speed rail as it’s fast and not too crowded. Since it would take only 14 minutes to travel between West Kowloon and Futian stations, he said even if a rescheduled trip could be allotted a non-reserved seat ticket, it’s still acceptable.

Yao Yan, a tourist from the Chinese mainland, also praised the latest arrangement. She arrived at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station two hours in advance to board a train to Shenzhen after a short visit to the SAR. Yao said she no longer has to arrive at the station too early with the new arrangement.

Yao Yan, a tourist from the Chinese mainland, arrived at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station two hours in advance to board a train to Shenzhen after a short visit to the SAR. Yao said she no longer has to arrive at the station too early with the new arrangement

Yao, who also works in Shenzhen and normally takes the high-speed rail or cross-boundary buses to Hong Kong, said the new plan takes travelers’ needs into account, noting that high-speed rail passengers are only allowed to change their tickets once for free on the mainland.

A woman surnamed Xie, who’s a frequent commuter between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, said it’s now very convenient for high-speed rail travelers.  She suggested that the same arrangement be applied to high-speed rail trains running between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Shenzhen North Station (Shenzhenbei) as there’re more trains running between these two stations.

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Hong Kong resident Connie Kam, 70, said high-speed rail trains should fully adopt the management system for metro trains, whereby passengers can just tap their Octopus cards upon arriving at any station. She said the new arrangement did not affect her much since she was going to Shenzhen North.