Round the clock: The Lok Ma Chau bounday crossing will open 24 hours starting on January 27, making it easy to travel between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta at any time of the day.

Beginning on January 27, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point will provide 24-hour passenger clearance. Operators of buses, trains and taxis have agreed to extend their services to accommodate the new opening hours.

From midnight until 6.30am, the Immigration Department will open 10 counters, five for arrivals and five for departures. Depending on the passenger flow, the Department may switch some arrivals counters to departures and vice versa.

Two inspection lanes, one for each direction, will open to clear private cars at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point. 

The Customs & Excise Department will provide normal clearance services for  passengers and cars, while the Police will maintain law and order at the San Tin Public Transport Interchange and Lok Ma Chau Control Point.

Corresponding arrangements will be made on the Huanggang sides. The two sides will stay in close communication, and take necessary measures to ensure the smooth flow of passengers.

The Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang Cross Boundary Shuttle Bus Service,  popularly known as the "Yellow Bus", will begin 24-hour service at midnight on January 27, providing service at 10- to 15-minute frequencies. The $7 single-journey fare will remain unchanged. 

The Transport Department has also made arrangements with bus companies to provide 24-hour services to the Lok Ma Chau (San Tin) Public Transport Interchange. The three feeder public transport services are: KMB Route 277 to Yuen Long West; GMB Route 44B to Tuen Mun and GMB Route 77 to Tin Shui Wai. The operator of  bus route 76K which travels through San Tin will also introduce an overnight service between Sheung Shui and San Tin.

Passengers can also take taxis or public light buses to and from the San Tin Public Transport Interchange to catch the Yellow Bus to the Lok Ma Chau Control Point.

Cross-boundary coach services already provide direct and point-to-point services from different areas in Hong Kong to the main cities in the Pearl River Delta. To meet passenger demand for the coming Lunar New Year, the Hong Kong Government and Mainland authorities have agreed to issue additional overnight quotas for which existing operators can apply.

In future, the Hong Kong Government and the Mainland authorities will discuss whether to invite operators to apply for additional overnight coach quotas to make it easy to travel to and from Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Region at any time of the day.

The Mainland and the Hong Kong Government have also agreed to increase the frequency of the Hong Kong-Guangzhou through train from seven to eight pairs a day before the Chinese New Year. The date of  implementation and train-service schedules will be announced later.

The Transport Department will monitor and review the service levels and passenger demand for public transport services following 24-hour opening of the Lok Ma Chau Crossing. 

Initially, the Government expects about 1,000 passengers an hour to use the crossing overnight. Volume is expected to fall off between 2 and 5am. Estimates put the average waiting time at about 5 to 15 minutes. 

Opening hours at other boundary control points will remain unchanged.