Within 24 hours, I had crossed territorial borders six times (in and out), by air, road (bridge), and sea (hydrofoil), with two more to come within the next 12 hours (rail). The end of Zero Covid in Mainland China and the unconditional opening of its border (no Covid tests except if coming from abroad in the past week, no quarantine) was a huge impetus in getting me across not just provincial, but quasi-national ones. (I say quasi-national, because in spite of them having their own Customs & Immigration systems, Hong Kong and Macau are, and remain, special administrative regions of the People’s Republic of China.)
My Macau trip saw me ride on the LRT system there, where I spotted a problem — the network itself was virtually unpromoted. In spite of never actively gambling, I don’t think those who want to take chances with their cash would also want to take chances with transport — whilst stepping off the light rail train doesn’t give that oomph as stepping off a limousine, the problem the world faces is a too car-centric transport system the world over (especially in the US). Cotai West station was really very poorly connected with public transport in spite of it being close to shopping centres and entertainment venues alike, whereas its more “eastern” counterpart, Cotai East, was far better — it had hotels and the like within minutes from the LRT stop.
Hong Kong’s new East Rail line extension across Victoria Harbour might appear trivial, but it’s an extension bringing a transport revolution. The much-loathed interchange at Kowloon Tong is no more; customers travelling to and from Hong Kong Island into the eastern part of the New Territories (Sha Tin, Sheung Shui etc) now don’t need to bother first getting on a Tsuen Wan line train, then changing to a Kwun Tung line service (even if it’s a cross-platform interchange), and finally walking up and down levels at Kowloon Tong. It’s now effortless to go between Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
Crossing the Hong Kong-Mainland China border at West Kowloon was effortless, but one major issue with the station is a changeover to an all-China Railways ticketing system. The ticketing system remains split between an MTR system and a China Railways one, with the machines not clearly labelled, and thus it was hard for me to pick up my Mainland Chinese expenses ticket when I stumbled upon the wrong type of machine. Staff, too, were of limited use when it came to helping me. A welcome addition, however, was a new set of boarding and security gates at the beginning for customers in First, Premier, and Business Class.
This whirlwind trip was timed to fit right down to the last minute, and it’s likely I won’t repeat one on such a tight deadline. Next time, I’ll sit down on Hong Kong trams and try the entire system and all its routes. Then, try the newer stations on the Tuen Ma line, as well as the new Peak Tram. In spite of the city being sapped of its liveliness for the best part of four years (2019 protests plus 2020-2022 under Zero Covid), I’m confident the city can survive and even revive. I’m headed to town more often by rail, and it’ll be exciting to see how it grows its rail network.