Starting from Wednesday, a new high-speed rail route will connect the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with five destinations in Guangdong province, including Jiangmen, one of the 11 cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The other four stations are Kaiping South, Yangjiang, Maoming and Zhanjiang West in western Guangdong, according to MTR Corp, operator of the rail's Hong Kong section.

With the introduction of this line, high-speed rail passengers from Hong Kong can now directly access 73 mainland destinations.

One train will depart daily in each direction along the new Zhanjiang West route. Tickets for the new line have been on sale since Oct 4, with a second-class one-way fare from Hong Kong to Jiangmen costing HK$297 ($38).

Jeny Yeung, Hong Kong transport services director of MTR Corp, said there are overseas Chinese communities in Jiangmen and Kaiping areas that have deep ties with many Hong Kong residents and overseas Chinese. She added that Jiangmen has a national-level high-tech industrial development zone as well as several youth innovation and entrepreneurship bases. She believes that whether for family visits, tourism, business trips or trade, passengers can enjoy the convenience and advantages of the new Zhanjiang West route.

Furthermore, MTR Corp will enhance train services between Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station and Guangzhou East Station, as well as Shenzhen Futian Station. These improvements include extending the last train departure time, increasing train frequency and introducing new train models.

With these service enhancements and new destinations, Hong Kong's high-speed rail network coverage will be expanded to include direct access to seven major cities in the Greater Bay Area: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Jiangmen.

To attract more passengers and celebrate the fifth anniversary of the high-speed rail, MTR Corp will launch a lucky draw on Oct 18, and 20,000 prizes with a total value exceeding HK$2.4 million will be given to the public, including railway tickets and discounted tours to cities like Heyuan and Huizhou in Guangdong province.

Data show that passenger traffic on the high-speed rail's Hong Kong section in August reached a record of nearly 2.5 million since its opening in 2018, with an average daily volume of more than 80,000 people. On Sept 30, the number of people crossing the border via the West Kowloon Station exceeded 100,000, also a new record.