VisaHQ’s transport bulletin details how Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation, franchised bus firms and green-minibus operators ran round-the-clock services from the afternoon of 24 December through dawn on Christmas Day to cope with forecast late-night immigration surges at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau. Every heavy-rail line except the Airport Express and Disneyland Resort stayed open, with three-minute headways on core corridors.
Twenty regular bus routes were extended to 24-hour operation and five special coaches linked New Territories districts directly to major interchange hubs. The result: only two crowd-control platform holds exceeded five minutes, compared with 14 a year earlier. Average bus load factors hit 63 %, avoiding the gridlock that previously stranded thousands of cross-boundary restaurant and hotel staff.
Meanwhile, VisaHQ can also help employers and workers stay prepared on the documentation front: our Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets users review up-to-date visa requirements, submit online applications and monitor status in real time, so that hassle-free transport is complemented by equally smooth border formalities.
![Overnight rail and bus plan keeps cross-border shift-workers moving on Christmas Eve]()
For employers of mainland-resident shift workers—particularly in hospitality, cleaning and construction—the overnight timetable meant smoother roster fulfilment and fewer costly last-minute taxi reimbursements. Unions representing 85 000 cross-border employees praised the advance publication of train and bus times, noting it allowed workers to plan meal breaks and rest periods more effectively.
The Transport & Logistics Bureau has already asked operators to draft similar 24-hour plans for the New Year’s Eve fireworks and for Lunar New Year’s Eve on 28 January. Businesses are urged to share forecast staff numbers with transport providers early so that carriage capacity can be fine-tuned.
Longer-term, the episode strengthens the case for a permanent overnight rail shuttle between West Kowloon and Futian, an idea now under joint study by MTR and China Railway Guangzhou Group.
Twenty regular bus routes were extended to 24-hour operation and five special coaches linked New Territories districts directly to major interchange hubs. The result: only two crowd-control platform holds exceeded five minutes, compared with 14 a year earlier. Average bus load factors hit 63 %, avoiding the gridlock that previously stranded thousands of cross-boundary restaurant and hotel staff.
Meanwhile, VisaHQ can also help employers and workers stay prepared on the documentation front: our Hong Kong portal (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) lets users review up-to-date visa requirements, submit online applications and monitor status in real time, so that hassle-free transport is complemented by equally smooth border formalities.
For employers of mainland-resident shift workers—particularly in hospitality, cleaning and construction—the overnight timetable meant smoother roster fulfilment and fewer costly last-minute taxi reimbursements. Unions representing 85 000 cross-border employees praised the advance publication of train and bus times, noting it allowed workers to plan meal breaks and rest periods more effectively.
The Transport & Logistics Bureau has already asked operators to draft similar 24-hour plans for the New Year’s Eve fireworks and for Lunar New Year’s Eve on 28 January. Businesses are urged to share forecast staff numbers with transport providers early so that carriage capacity can be fine-tuned.
Longer-term, the episode strengthens the case for a permanent overnight rail shuttle between West Kowloon and Futian, an idea now under joint study by MTR and China Railway Guangzhou Group.
