From news.gov.hk:
2nd Mainland-HK rail link ready next year (http://news.gov.hk/en/category/infrastructureandlogistics/060403/features/html/060403en06001.htm)

新線或下月底通車 票價與羅湖線看齊
落馬洲至上水收$18.8
07/05/2007
太陽報

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20070507/img/a150507_big.jpg

【本報訊】為趕及回歸假期的人流，九廣東鐵落馬洲支線可能提早於六月底通車，九鐵管理層即將審議及決定新線的票價。消息指出，九鐵初步建議新支線車費與羅湖線看齊，單程由上水往落馬洲，八達通收費為十八元八角，預料下月將公布結果。立法會議員及區議員批評新支線收費過高，對乘客缺乏吸引力，擔心支線啟用後未能幫助羅湖的擠迫情況。

議員：收費太高難競爭
全長七點四公里的落馬洲支線啟用後，由上水往落馬洲只需六分鐘。九鐵曾強調支線可疏導羅湖口岸的擠塞情況，票價必具競爭力。但消息指，九鐵管理層最近認為支線票價不宜太低，否則外界要求羅湖線減價的聲音將更強烈，故初步建議新支線收費與羅湖線相同。

北區區議員岑永根表示，九鐵曾透露新線的收費比羅湖線便宜，若支線收費只能與羅湖線看齊，乘客將使用皇巴等其他交通工具過關。立法會議員劉健儀則認為，若支線收費太高，將面對深港西部通道的競爭，因市民可選乘公共交通工具經該通道過境。

據現有票價定新線收費
環境運輸及工務局首席助理秘書長李碧茜表示，新線收費根據現有票價結構釐定，將交由立法會討論。九鐵發言人謂，落馬洲支線通車日期及票價有決定時，將向外公布。

'50 years' to recoup HK$10b cost of spur line
20 May 2007
South China Morning Post

Transport experts say the KCRC will struggle to recover the HK$10 billion it cost to build the Lok Ma Chau spur line when it opens in July.

Passenger numbers on the cross-border rail link will be so low, they say, that revenue will cover only operational and depreciation costs.

A senior source at the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation admitted it "will not be that profitable".

But the source said: "Most of the passengers taking the new link will be those already taking the East Rail to Lo Wu. There will not be a lot of new passengers."

He said the fare had to be the same as that charged on the East Rail to Lo Wu. If it was higher, not many people would travel on the new line. If it was lower, the new line would undercut East Rail and lose money.

The spokesman declined to reveal the return it would need on the investment and said the corporation had developed marketing plans to promote use of the line.

The 7.4-km rail project was launched in 2002 to relieve congestion at Lo Wu. But the introduction of smart ID cards, e-channels and more immigration counters has largely reduced queues at the border.

A plan to build a new town in Kwu Tung has been shelved and a tenfold increase in cross-border bus passengers has also reduced demand.

Hung Wing-tat, associate professor at Polytechnic University's department of civil engineering, said: "It is a bit like West Rail. Under the original plan the project was very viable, but they have had big problems with implementation. The spur line is not a viable project and is set to lose a lot of money."

Leung Kong-yui, a transport expert, said: "It will not lose money in operational terms," he said. "But the profit will only be able to cover depreciation costs.

"The KCRC will not be able to get any return on its investment."

But he stressed neither officials nor the KCRC should be blamed. "Nobody could predict what has happened in the past few years. It is just unfortunate."

落馬洲支線7．1難啟用
16/06/2007
太陽報

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/news/20070616/img/sn07061607_big.jpg

【本報訊】東鐵落馬洲支線的啟用日期再度押後，未能如九鐵主席田北辰早前所言，在七月一日便可以通車，預計通車日期最快也要到下月三日之後。九鐵行政總裁詹伯樂期望，落馬洲支線可在七月份之內啟用，但九鐵未有解釋押後通車原因。

消息透露，九鐵內部一直擬定支線在七月一日通車，惟最近突然更改計劃，盛傳是內地福田口岸聯檢大樓工程延誤所致。但深圳市有關部門人士表示，深圳福田口岸與落馬洲管制站實行的是兩地異檢方式，與西部通道一地兩檢不一樣，故兩地的通關系統暫不會互相影響。

立法會議員陳偉業認為，九鐵應交代支線拖延通車的原因，以免重蹈昂坪纜車覆轍。議員王國興早前曾要求九鐵安排議員參觀落馬洲總站，但如今時間緊迫，恐影響立法會的監督作用。九鐵發言人稱，至今未定出落馬洲支線通車日期，期望下月內啟用，九鐵已定於下月三日安排議員參觀車站，意味尠起碼在當天後才能通車。

落馬洲支線7‧9通車
21/06/2007
太陽報

深圳地鐵四號線皇崗站昨日在宣傳及配套不足情況下開始試運行，不過試搭人數稀少。據稱，日後地鐵四號線班次將每十分鐘一班。不過因新福田口岸未開通，乘客到達皇崗站後仍要步行或轉車往皇崗口岸過關，十分不便。

另外，有消息指落馬洲支線將於下月九日通車，比九鐵內部預定的七月一日遲約一星期。九鐵發言人未有透露支線確實通車日期，只謂支線投入服務前，需兩地口岸管制當局協調，預計有關方面不久會取得共識。

班次擬十分鐘一班
深圳地鐵四號線皇崗站昨日正式開始試運行，乘客往返福民站至皇崗站將會免費直至正式開通為止。開通後的地鐵四號線營運時間將由早上六時半至晚上十一時，收車時間較收關時間為早。營運初期會有兩列列車對開，班次維持每十分鐘一班。據介紹，由四號線皇崗站出發，到會展中心站換乘一號線往世界之窗站及羅湖站票價同為四元，乘車時間同樣約為三十五分鐘。

以「和諧」為主題的皇崗地鐵站與福田口岸聯檢大樓連成一體，深圳方面的聯檢大樓就在地鐵站正上方，乘客從地鐵站步行往聯檢大樓只需兩分鐘。皇崗站採用分流式設計，由香港到深圳的旅客在步出深方聯檢大樓後，即可沿扶手電梯往下到達地鐵購票大堂買票入閘；而從深圳往香港的旅客，下車後沿扶手電梯到車站夾層出閘，再沿扶手電梯到深圳方面的聯檢大樓檢查。

距皇崗口岸甚遠
雖然同名「皇崗」，但皇崗口岸與地鐵皇崗站其實相距甚遠，步行需約二十分鐘。因此乘地鐵到皇崗站的乘客需另找途徑往皇崗口岸，或乾脆乘地鐵到羅湖才能過關。深圳地鐵發言人指出，開通日期仍有待政府公布，但四號線應可於七一前正式通車，待福田新口岸及九鐵落馬洲支線於七月上旬開通後，乘客才可以享受從地鐵站直上口岸過關的便利。

地鐵皇崗站位於裕享路深圳河旁，兩個出口均面向裕享路，附近一帶多為港人聚居的豪宅區。但區內只有三條巴士線往返市區，配套不足。日後除地鐵外，乘客從福田口岸往返市區交通工具選擇較少，而地鐵及巴士收車後，過關旅客更要坐的士才能進出市區，較羅湖出關不便。 兩岸組記者深圳報道

Lok Ma Chau line delay blamed on border links
Hong Kong Standard
Monday, July 16, 2007

Final procedural arrangements are holding up the much-awaited opening of the Lok Ma Chau spur line, which could come less than a week after the completion of the procedures, according to the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp.

"Everything is ready on our side, and it would take the KCRC less than one week to start operations after being told [by mainland authorities] that all of the facilities on both sides are ready for passengers to transit through the terminal," KCRC chief executive James Blake said yesterday.

For the initial phase of operations, the last train will reach the Lok Ma Chau terminus by 10.30pm, since train services for the Shenzhen metro link will also end at that time and only a few other ground transport facilities will be available across the border.

Blake said a review of the operating hours will be conducted in six months' time.

The delay in opening the new rail link, which was originally due to begin services on July 1, will cost KCRC up to HK$500,000 a day, lawmaker Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, who chairs the Legislative Council's transport panel, has said.

The terminus is expected to handle 50,000 cross-border passengers daily, although it can cope with a maximum of 200,000 commuters if crowd-control measures are implemented.

Serious congestion at the Lo Wu checkpoint, where the number of commuters reached 241,000 a day last year, had prompted in 2002 the construction of the spur line.

The Transport and Housing Bureau has said that it aimed to open the 7.4-kilometer spur line between June and August.

The KCRC, meanwhile, will deploy a team of engineers underground to monitor for possible signs of caving in as tunneling takes place in Tsim Sha Tsui for the 3.8-kilometer Kowloon Southern Link project.

Last month the second road subsidence in eight months involving the project caused gas leakage and road closures as a hole measuring three meters by four meters and 30 centimeters deep appeared in Salisbury Road.

"The team will walk along with the boring machine as tunneling takes place," capital projects senior director Lee Kang-kuen said.

"If anything abnormal happens, it could be detected immediately, followed by remedial measures, like road closures, so as to minimize the impact on the public."

But while there were "some" subsidence problems due to the "difficult" soft soil - which requires different drilling heads than hard rocks - in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, Lee said it was impossible to be in full control. "For all construction work, there is no 100 percent guarantee. You can only do the best [preventive measures] you can beforehand," he said.

In terms of avoiding industrial accidents, Lee said the KCRC had a good track record because of its improved construction safety management system, with accidents occurring at a rate 20 percent lower than the industry norm in Hong Kong.

The completion of the first phase of tunneling work for the southbound Southern Link yesterday prompted the start of lifting the "little dragon lady" boring machine - which weighs more than 1,000 tonnes and is 20 meters underground in pieces - above ground to outside the Sheraton Hotel.

As a result, sections of Salisbury Road will be closed between midnight and 6am until the end of this month.

The second phase, drilling 10 meters underground for the northbound rail - involving 1.1 kilometers of tunneling in Canton Road and Salisbury Road - is expected to start in early September and be completed by March.

Blake expressed confidence the project linking West Rail's Nam Cheong station with East Rail's Tsim Sha Tsui East could be completed on schedule by August 2009.

落馬洲支線通車無期
21/07/2007
東方日報

http://orientaldaily.on.cc/photo/20070721/new/0721nhko17b1.jpg

【 兩 岸 組 報 道 】 落 馬 洲 支 線 通 車 日 期 至 今 仍 未 落 實 ， 九 鐵 一 直 表 示 要 中 港 兩 地 政 府協 調 。 原 來 深 圳 福 田 口 岸 的 開 通 一 拖 再 拖 ， 是 因 為 要 等 待 國 家 聯 合 驗 收 組 的 驗 收 結果 。 目 前 邊 檢 、 海 關 以 及 檢 驗 檢 疫 部 門 的 設 備 已 經 安 全 調 試 完 畢 ， 有 消 息 指 國 家 聯合 驗 收 組 將 於 下 周 到 深 圳 驗 收 福 田 口 岸 的 基 建 等 情 況 ， 待 通 過 驗 收 後 才 可 開 通 。

據 深 圳 相 關 部 門 負 責 人 透 露 ， 福 田 口 岸 開 通 前 ， 需 要 國 家 發 改 委 、 海 關 總 署 、 公 安部 等 部 門 聯 合 驗 收 ， 待 驗 收 合 格 後 ， 再 由 廣 東 省 政 府 向 國 務 院 申 報 ， 之 後 與 香 港 方面 協 商 最 後 的 通 關 事 宜 ， 但 至 今 仍 處 於 等 候 驗 收 的 階 段 。

口 岸 開 通 一 拖 再 拖
至 於 福 田 口 岸 邊 檢 、 海 關 以 及 檢 驗 檢 疫 部 門 的 設備 已 經 安 全 調 試 完 畢 ， 人 員 也 已 經 到 位 ， 具 備 隨 時 可 開 關 的 條 件 。 聯 檢 的 有 關 部 門近 日 還 進 行 過 一 次 開 關 演 練 ， 並 無 出 現 任 何 問 題 ， 口 岸 已 經 達 到 隨 時 開 關 條 件 。 有消 息 指 國 家 聯 合 驗 收 組 將 於 下 周 到 深 圳 驗 收 福 田 口 岸 的 基 建 等 情 況 。 深 圳 方 面 表 示， 申 報 過 程 隨 國 家 聯 合 驗 收 組 驗 收 完 畢 而 啟 動 。 本 港 有 立 法 會 議 員 曾 指 今 次 口 岸 開 通 時 間 一 拖 再拖 ， 原 因 令 人 費 解 ， 但 相 信 兩 地 設 施 並 不 是 阻 礙 開 通 的 最 大 原 因 。

至 於 落 馬 洲 支 線 通 車 日 期 仍 有 待 內 地 辦 理 有 關 手 續 ， 由 於 涉 及 兩 地 政 府 政 策 ， 因 此 未 知 通 車 安 排 的 進 展 。

深 圳 福 田 口 岸 總 投 資 一 億 八 千 多 萬 元 人 民 幣 ， 共 設 進 出 關 通 道 一 百 四 十 六 條 ， 設 計高 峰 期 最 大 客 流 量 達 每 日 二 十 五 萬 人 次 。 福 田 口 岸 聯 檢 大 樓 與 香 港 落 馬 洲 口 岸 聯 檢大 樓 以 一 條 長 達 二 百 ○ 四 米 、 寬 十 六 米 的 通 道 橋 相 連 ， 實 現 無 縫 對 接 。 口 岸 採 用 統一 設 計 、 主 體 統 一 施 工 ， 建 成 後 各 自 管 理 的 合 作 模 式 。

落馬洲支線今定啟用期
02/08/2007
太陽報

【本報訊】連接深圳福田口岸的落馬洲支線可望於今個月中通車，今日在港舉行的粵港合作聯席會議第十次會議將敲定通車及福田口岸的啟用日期。會議亦會就經貿、民生及基建等不同範疇的合作事宜進行討論，包括會成立一個福利小組跟進有港人在內地的有關社福範疇合作事宜。

今日召開的粵港聯席會議將以「拓展及深化粵港合作」為主題，其中落馬洲支線及福田口岸的啟用日期是討論議程之一。深圳的官方新聞網昨日報道，福田口岸日前已通過國家口岸驗收組的驗收。

據悉，粵港聯席會議亦會就基建、環保、食物安全、經貿等範疇的合作進行討論，包括商討成立一個工作小組，跟進兩地的福利合作事宜，港府亦會趁機邀請粵方官員來港，出席研討會，向港商介紹內地加工新政策。

出席今次會議的廣東省代表團包括省長黃華華、常務副省長湯炳權一行人昨日已抵港進行考察，代表團在政務司司長唐英年陪同下參觀了科學園，進一步了解香港創新科技的最新發展。

尖東頭班5:45 尾班22:30
落馬洲支線8．15通車
03/08/2007
太陽報

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落馬洲支線通車日期終有定案，粵港合作聯席會議第十次會議昨日敲定支線爭取在本月十五日通車，屆時市民可透過這第二條跨境鐵路，以六分鐘由東鐵上水站前往落馬洲關卡，過關後接駁深圳地鐵四號線。由尖東站往落馬洲站則需四十四分鐘，票價與前往羅湖的三十四元八角相同。鐵路乘客普遍憧憬落馬洲線通車帶來的方便，但就批評九鐵過境線車費過高。

廣東省省長黃華華與特首曾蔭權昨日在聯席會議後會見新聞界。曾蔭權表示，過去一年跨境基建取得重要成果，深港西部通道已在上月一日啟用，落實一地兩檢新安排；落馬洲支線及福田口岸亦已完工，港府會以八月十五日通車為目標，期望可紓緩羅湖口岸的擠迫，新界東居民前往落馬洲亦更加方便。

造價百億 長7.4公里
落馬洲支線原定在今年初投入服務，黃華華解釋，福田口岸竣工後，一直等待國家口岸辦驗收口岸設施，所以通車日期被迫推遲了約半年。昨日福田口岸大樓四周仍有工作人員加緊趕工，主要是清理及種花等工作。

造價達一百億元的九鐵落馬洲支線，全長約七點四公里。除可用東鐵過關外，新關卡旁亦設有公共交通交匯處，可供巿區及新界的士載客往來，並提供一條巴士及專線小巴線，接載乘客往來落馬洲站及新界西北區。不過在過關後，市民或需依賴皇崗站轉乘深圳地鐵四號線往各地區，因為福田口岸大樓外只有三條巴士線。

出入境共設70條e道
落馬洲鐵路通車時，東鐵每開出兩班往羅湖列車後，便會開出一班往落馬洲列車。新鐵路過境關卡每日只提供十六小時服務，由尖東往落馬洲站的首班車會在早上五時四十五分開出，尾班車則會於晚上約十時半開出。

落馬洲支線可望於月中通車，有經常取道羅湖過關的市民表示歡迎，認為除可減低對羅湖的負荷之外，亦可便利前往福田區的市民，更估計港人會增加在福田區消費。

按原有構思，落馬洲支線通車初期，每日客流量約五萬人次。入境處發言人表示，落馬洲支線管制站的設計，每日可處理最多十五萬過境人次，該處的運作模式，與現時的羅湖管制站相似，離境大堂設有三十個櫃位及四十條e道，入境大堂有三十六個櫃位及三十條e道，入境處將派二百人駐守。

100 queue for chance to ride first train on the new line
16 August 2007
South China Morning Post

More than 100 passengers formed a long queue at East Tsim Sha Tsui station yesterday in the hope of travelling on the first train on the Lok Ma Chau spur line.

Many were simply interested in taking part in the historic trip and did not cross the border.

A woman in her seventies, who travelled from Tsuen Wan to board the train, said she would not cross the border because being a passenger on the first train was good enough.

Roger Philips, however, was crossing the border and caught the first train by chance. The Englishman, who has worked in Hong Kong for 16 years, said he would use the Lok Ma Chau crossing in future because it was closer to his second home in Shenzhen.

"The new checkpoint allows me to take just one taxi trip from my home to the border. Previously, I would have to take a taxi to an East Rail station before catching a train to Lo Wu. We are talking about a difference in taxi fare of about HK$60."

The departure of the first train was a little chaotic as more than 50 members of the press roamed the packed platform to take photos of KCRC chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun.

Mr Tien said the trip was smooth and stations on the mainland side were spacious.

The large and clean Futian checkpoint impressed the first batch of Hong Kong passengers, although some criticised the lack of transport links.

There is no taxi stand at the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint building. Apart from the Shenzhen Metro Line 4, the only other options for passengers are four bus routes to Futian and Luohu districts that stop at a terminal outside the checkpoint.

More than 200 people had queued at the immigration entrance before its opening at 4pm.

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^^^
Damn this thing NEEDS PSDs (or at least platform gates).

Guess this is what happens when you hire KCRC instead of MTR Corporation to do work on train stations.

---------
Anyhow, do you think something similar will be made for Hong Kong<->Macao?

If ever, I hope MTRC would take care of both HK side and Macau side of the railway project (since the company plans to debut as well in Macao).

We don't need to see any half-assed attempts by KCRC.

Anyhow, do you think something similar will be made for Hong Kong<->Macao?

If ever, I hope MTRC would take care of both HK side and Macau side of the railway project (since the company plans to debut as well in Macao).

We don't need to see any half-assed attempts by KCRC.

No, there will not be a rail linking HK and Macao.
There was a plan to building the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to provide both motor vehicles and rail services, but the train track was then removed due the cost.

New spur line has brought us transport misery, say villagers
22 August 2007
South China Morning Post

The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line has brought convenience to people crossing the border at Shenzhen west but villagers on the Hong Kong side said it has become the bane of their lives.

Cheung Pui-chuen, a resident of the Lok Ma Chau village located within the restricted border area, just 5km from the new checkpoint, said the new KCRC station should have provided them with better access to the city, but instead they were losing their seats on the only minibus service to the growing number of cross-border passengers who share the same route.

The green minibus route 75A, which used to circulate between Ha Wan Tsuen village, Lok Ma Chau village and Yuen Long, now goes on to include the new checkpoint since it opened last Wednesday.

The additional people that board the minibus at the Yuen Long terminus, to reach the checkpoint, means there are no seats left for villagers trying to get to Lok Ma Chau.

To make matters worse, the 600 people who live in the two restricted-zone villages are not allowed to drive to the new checkpoint, not even to pick up or drop off their families at the public transport interchange.

There is also a bus route, B1, that heads to the checkpoint from Yuen Long but it does not stop at the two villages.

Villagers may also cycle to the checkpoint but Mr Cheung said there was no formal cycling track and they could only ride along a footpath which is strewn with fire hydrants. Yuen Long district councillor Man Fu-wan said the Transport Department should do something to address the traffic problem of the border villagers.

"The queues for the minibus, especially during the morning peak hour, are in fact getting longer than before," he said.

The Transport Department said the interchange at Lok Ma Chau was small and had to be reserved for public transport.

Lok Ma Chau cash back move by MTR
2 July 2009
The Standard

The MTR is trying to lure passengers to the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control point by offering a HK$5 discount.

The push aims to ease the heavy flow of travelers through the Lo Wu control point, the MTR says.

The spur line opened on August 15, 2007.

Its passenger flow since opening averages 35,000 a day _ well below the 50,000 to 60,000 initial estimate.

There will also be a HK$5 discount for passengers interchanging to the East Rail Line through the MTR's Lok Ma Chau Station.

The discount is effective from now until late December.

Passengers simply have to swipe their Octopus cards at Fare Saver machines at the Shenzhen Metro Futian Kou'an station and Hung Hom station to get the discount on their next MTR trips.

Apart from discounted fares, from July to September 20 cross-boundary passengers who shop at the Lok Ma Chau Duty Free shop will receive one adult cross-boundary single journey ticket voucher for each transaction above HK$400.

The voucher can be redeemed at the Duty Free shop in the arrival hall at Lok Ma Chau station while stocks last and is valid for one month from the day of redemption. The flow of travelers crossing boundaries through the Lo Wu control point is greater than the number recorded at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control point.

The number of Hong Kong resident departures through the Lo Wu control point in 2008 exceeded 37 million.

The figure is more than four times the 8 million departures through the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line control point in the same year.

The spur line control point has experienced a steady increase in traffic, however, with the average daily number of travelers increasing from 40,000 in early 2008 to around 62,000 for the full year.

I prefer taking the train to Lok Ma Chau if I were to cross the border. I like the big and relaxing environment, unlike Lo Wu, too many people scrambling!

I start to think the big difference in usage is because there are something that Lo Wu offers in the Shen Zhen sides, that is not available in Huanggang doesn't. I don't know what it is, train/bus connections, shopping, retails etc. Therefore people opt to concentrate in Lo Wu, rather than going to Lok Ma Chau.

Futian will get a super fast train from HK right into the business district. Surely this will kill off some of the traffic. The basic problem is the whole east rail line is way too slow and it takes another 20 mins after getting to the border to get to business district, at Lowu it is at the border. Perhaps the west rail link to LMC would of been a better link than the spur as it would of opened up the Western NT's to Shenzhen.

Light rail link planned to boost spur line
Light rail link considered to boost struggling Lok Ma Chau service
Lifeline for Lok Ma Chau service as cross-border express poses threat
21 September 2009
South China Morning Post

The authorities are considering building a light rail to link the underused Lok Ma Chau Spur Line with the development zone on the Shenzhen River, in an effort to rescue the HK$10 billion rail from being redundant after the new high-speed cross-border express opens in 2015.

The plan for the link from Lok Ma Chau station to the Lok Ma Chau Loop - an area of land carved from Shenzhen's territory during flood-control works - comes amid fears that the spur line, opened in 2007, will be left serving only eastern New Territories residents and those who cannot afford to ride the express.

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link will whisk passengers from West Kowloon to the Futian station in central Shenzhen in just 14 minutes compared with about an hour on existing services.

An engineer familiar with the project said the high-speed train would pose a serious challenge to the spur line and the loop's development was seen as a remedy.

"The distance between the spur line's station and the loop is about 1.5km," the engineer said. "It is too far to walk, especially on hot summer days, so the authorities are thinking about a point-to-point shuttle service, a small train, to carry people between the two places."

The MTR Corp - which inherited the underused line when its operations merged with the KowloonCanton Railway Corporation - says its average daily patronage is about 30,000 compared with earlier projections of 60,000.

Plans for the 87-hectare loop, which is still officially part of Shenzhen, but has been under Hong Kong management since the course of the river was changed, have yet to be finalised. But it has been designated a low-density zone for education, research and creative industries. At present it takes passengers using the spur line about 45 minutes from Hung Hom station to the Lok Ma Chau checkpoint, 10 minutes to cross the border and seven minutes on the Shenzhen metro to reach the city centre.

"Only passengers living in the New Territories will use the spur line," said Albert Lai Kwong-tak, an engineer who has been following the project's development since the idea was first raised in 2002 and describes it as "a big white elephant" that should never have been built.

Hung Wing-tat, who researches transport and traffic models at the Polytechnic University, agrees. "Only those who cannot afford the high-speed rail will use the spur line."

The 7.4km spur line, costing HK$10 billion, was built to ease congestion at Lo Wu, previously the only rail border crossing point.

But the introduction of smart ID cards, e-channels and more immigration counters has largely reduced queues at Lo Wu and plans for a new town at Kwu Tung, with a projected 100,000 population on the spur line's route, have yet to materialise.

The KCRC had estimated 60,000 people would travel on the spur line each day within a year of its launch in 2007, eventually diverting a quarter of the Lo Wu line's passengers, but it carries just half that number.

The MTR has run a fare-saver programme by installing Octopus card reading machines in Shenzhen and held promotional campaigns, but a spokesman said it had no further plans to boost the passenger rate.

The government and the MTR Corp, meanwhile, say no comparison should be made between the high-speed link and the spur line, saying the prime objective of the new express line was to link with the national rail network and promote integration with the Pearl River Delta.

Before work had even begun, the spur line project ran into a major snag when the Environmental Protection Department rejected plans for a viaduct across the Long Valley wetland, forcing the KCRC to put a tunnel under the bird-watching haven and adding HK$2 billion to the original HK$8 billion cost.

Transport experts said in 2007 the operator would struggle to recover the construction cost, expecting it would take more than 40 years to earn a return even if it achieved its projected passenger figures.

The high-speed train will have two stations in Shenzhen, at Futian and Longhua. Futian was added to the line's plan in 2006.

An MTR Corp document, which can also be found on the Hong Kong Institute of Planners' website, suggests that 80 per cent of the high-speed trains from Hong Kong will terminate in Shenzhen.

But the Transport and Housing Bureau insists that the high-speed link's prime importance is connecting Hong Kong to the national railway network and says it poses a greater threat to short-haul air travel.

After a long controversy involving developers who wanted full-scale development and environmentalists who wanted none, the Lok Ma Chau Loop was designated for tertiary education, high-technology research and creative industries, under a letter of intent signed between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in April.

Two connecting highways will be built to join it with urban areas, including one to Kwu Tung. The government is expected to release a concept plan for public consultation early next year, with a final plan to be released in 2011.

wouldn't the planned link to new territories west solve the issue? but it might make the HSR redundant.