The day after Christmas proved almost as busy as the holiday itself, with Hong Kong processing 1.18 million cross-boundary movements on 26 December, VisaHQ reported in a 29 December update. West Kowloon Station handled the bulk of inbound mainland visitors—75 000 of the 622 000 arrivals—thanks to higher-frequency Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed services and simplified e-payments for ticketing.
Rail now accounts for two-thirds of holiday-period crossings, overtaking Lo Wu’s longstanding dominance. The trend is significant for businesses that traditionally rely on the airport or road transport for personnel transfers, signalling that high-speed rail may offer faster door-to-door times for Shenzhen and Guangzhou assignments.
![Boxing Day traffic tops 1.18 million as rail becomes the preferred gateway]()
Checkpoint data show Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay remain critical, but the express-rail corridor is absorbing growth without compromising processing times. For HR teams managing short-term visas, the data suggest that registering staff for e-Channel at West Kowloon should now be standard practice.
The Immigration Department credits its expanded “Smart Departure” QR-code gates—now active at every checkpoint—with keeping queue times within service benchmarks despite the demand spike.
Rail now accounts for two-thirds of holiday-period crossings, overtaking Lo Wu’s longstanding dominance. The trend is significant for businesses that traditionally rely on the airport or road transport for personnel transfers, signalling that high-speed rail may offer faster door-to-door times for Shenzhen and Guangzhou assignments.
Checkpoint data show Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and Shenzhen Bay remain critical, but the express-rail corridor is absorbing growth without compromising processing times. For HR teams managing short-term visas, the data suggest that registering staff for e-Channel at West Kowloon should now be standard practice.
The Immigration Department credits its expanded “Smart Departure” QR-code gates—now active at every checkpoint—with keeping queue times within service benchmarks despite the demand spike.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
