(Yicai Global) Sept. 25 -- On its inaugural day some 75,000 passengers took the new high-speed rail line that connects Hong Kong with the cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the capital of neighboring Guangdong province.

More than 42,000 people used the line to travel to Hong Kong on Sept. 23, while over 33,000 headed to the Chinese mainland on the same day. Peak passenger flow was between 8.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m, state-owned Xinhua News Agency reported. Passenger numbers dropped to 37,000 yesterday, which was a national holiday in the mainland.

A Shenzhen resident with a ticket to travel one stop south from Shenzhen North Station to Futian failed to exit the train at that station and received the first fine of HKD1,500 (USD193) after arriving at Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station, Hong Kong-based Chinese language newspaper Wen Wei Po reported.

The surcharge for invalid tickets from Guangzhou and Shenzhen stations to West Kowloon is HKD1,500, while passengers coming from other stations in China's mainland to Hong Kong without correct documentation -- forged, altered or invalid in any way -- are subject to a HKD3,000 penalty.

Editor: William Clegg