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MTR Corp vows to work with mainland Chinese counterparts after Hongkongers left waiting hours for high-speed rail ticket authentication

  • Some complain of lengthy delays for mobile or email verification from service’s official website
  • Jeny Yeung, MTR Corp’s transport services director, says rail giant will refer bugs to website operator China Railway

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Crowds gather to purchase high-speed rail tickets in person on Friday. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Emily HungandLo Hoi-ying
The MTR Corporation has pledged to work with its mainland Chinese counterparts after Hong Kong residents complained of lengthy delays and errors in authenticating their bookings for the high-speed rail service over the border.

Ticketing was in the spotlight again on Friday after hundreds of travellers the day before lined up at the terminus in West Kowloon for train tickets ahead of Sunday’s resumption of the service.

Jeny Yeung Mei-chun, the MTR Corp’s transport services director, told a radio programme some travellers had complained about delays in authenticating bookings on China Railway’s website.

“It should take just a few minutes to buy a ticket online, but we have heard of cases in which people could not receive the authentication code, and some took a long time to get it,” she said. “We are learning about the situation and will refer this to the operator.”

Yeung said about 3,000 out of the 5,000 tickets available daily for northbound trains had been sold as of Thursday.

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