Technical ‘teething’ issues behind MTR’s ticket confusion on Hong Kong high-speed rail

Trouble with access to ticketing system behind higher cost for Hong Kong passengers when it comes to buying fares for journeys that run entirely on mainland soil

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Hong Kong express rail out for a test run in Shek Kong in April. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 6:45pm, 7 May 2018Updated: 10:44pm, 7 May 2018

Accessibility with a mainland system is preventing MTR Corp from selling tickets to all destinations on a high-speed rail network that will connect Hong Kong to cities across the border, a source said on Monday.

Unless this is fixed, passengers travelling from Hong Kong will be forced to purchase tickets for journeys that run entirely on mainland soil – for example, from Guangzhou to Nanjing – at a higher price.

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“There are some teething technical issues, which are unlikely to be resolved by September,” when the network is expected to launch, said a source close to MTR Corp, which will operate the Hong Kong section of the line.

MTR Corp chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang “wants to manage the public’s expectation”, the source said.

Ma said on Sunday that passengers would have to purchase tickets for destinations requiring a change at Guangzhou South station, at the other end of the 142km line, at mainland express rail stations.