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Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Hong Kong Sepcial Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Frank Chan Fan (2nd R) attends a press conference on the operating arrangements for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) in Hong Kong, south China, Aug. 23, 2018. Chan announced Thursday that the operating arrangements for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) would be commissioned on Sept. 23 to connect with the national high-speed rail network, offering direct trains to 44 destinations. (Xinhua/Liu Yongdong)

HONG KONG, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A transport official of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said on Thursday that the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway will start operation on Sept. 23.

Secretary for Transport and Housing of the HKSAR government Frank Chan told a press conference that the cross-border high-speed railway will offer direct services to 44 mainland destinations, among which 38 to be long-haul destinations.

According to Chan, the first train will depart at 7 a.m. local time on Sept. 23 from Hong Kong's West Kowloon station to Shenzhenbei station, with the price of the second-class train ticket to be at 86 Hong Kong dollars (about 10.96 U.S. dollars) for the 26-km section.