260 Transport
cross-boundary passenger traffic by rail, road and ferry increased by about 7.2 per cent, reaching 569 000 passengers a day.
Rail Services to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau
Lo Wu, one of the two rail boundary crossings into the Mainland, operates between 6.30 am and midnight every day. It handled an average of 250 300 passengers daily during the year, and more than 379 700 on festive days.
The other rail boundary crossing into the Mainland is the MTR East Rail Line extension to Lok Ma Chau which operates between 6.30 am and 10.30 pm daily. Passengers can reach this crossing either by rail or local public transport. In 2010, the crossing at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line handled an average of about 42 500 passengers daily, and more than 71 600 on festive days, plus a daily average of about 36 600 passengers arriving at the crossing by public transport.
Road Crossings
There are four road crossings between Hong Kong and the Mainland for goods and passengers. They are Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay Port. The Lok Ma Chau crossing operates round-the-clock. The Sha Tau Kok and Man Kam To crossings are open daily from 7 am to 10 pm, and Shenzhen Bay Port crossing is open from 6.30 am to midnight. The Shenzhen Wenjindu Port (the Mainland side of Hong Kong Man Kam To crossing) Passenger Clearance Area has been temporarily closed for reconstruction works since February 22, 2010. The clearance services for passenger vehicles were suspended while the Cargo Clearance Area and clearance services for cross-boundary students were not affected. To meet passengers' needs, six daily round trips of cross-boundary bus services have been allowed to operate between Sheung Shui and Shenzhen Wenjindu Port during the morning and evening commuting peak periods since March 27, 2010.
The daily average number of vehicle trips recorded at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay crossings during the year were 27 400, 4 600, 2 300 and 8 800 respectively.
The daily average numbers of cross-boundary travellers using the Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Shenzhen Bay crossings were 91 800, 1 400, 7 900 and 58 600 respectively. These travellers crossed the boundary mainly by coach, while travellers crossing the boundary via the Lok Ma Chau crossing may also choose to take the shuttle buses that ply between Huanggang in Shenzhen and the public transport interchange at San Tin; travellers crossing the boundary via the Shenzhen Bay crossing may choose to use local public transport services to Shenzhen Bay Port.
In 2010, about 76 100 passengers took cross-boundary coaches provided by some 120 companies, while 26 400 and 33 200 passengers took shuttle buses at Lok Ma Chau and local public transport to Shenzhen Bay Port each day respectively.
New Boundary Crossings under Construction or Planning
To meet the continuous growth in cross-boundary traffic, new road and rail crossings have been planned in co-ordination with the Mainland authorities. The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) will link Hong Kong directly to the Pearl