Travelers donning face masks arrive from Shenzhen (back left) to Hong Kong at Lo Wu MTR station on Feb 3, 2020. (ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP)

High-speed train services between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland will begin trial operations on Jan 3, with tickets going on sale for the public three days before the full resumption of cross-boundary travel.

The date for the full resumption has yet to be confirmed but the HKSAR government earlier said it plans to gradually resume normal cross-boundary travel in mid-January.

Cheung Chi-keung, head of cross-boundary operations for MTR Corporation, told a local radio program on Friday that the MTR has reached an agreement with mainland authorities on the trial run

Cheung Chi-keung, head of cross-boundary operations for MTR Corp Ltd, told a local radio program on Friday that the MTR has reached an agreement with mainland authorities on the trial run, during which MTR staff will be able to familiarize themselves with the operation system and related works that have been suspended for nearly three years. 

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He added that the company has arranged for the staff of Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau checkpoint stations to return to their posts. 

The MTR is also preparing to reopen the two checkpoint stations on the East Rail Line, which connect to neighboring Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Cheung said.

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He also said that the morning rush hour for local commuters will not overlap with the peak time for cross-boundary traffic, and so the resumption of services will not have much affect on local transportation.