■乘客在乘搭高鐵前，最好先留意《廣深港高鐵旅客規則》。 資料圖片【原文】港鐵在9月11日公佈《廣深港高速鐵路跨境旅客運輸組織規則》，涉及乘客在西九龍高鐵站和列車上要留意的事項。作為跨境運輸系統，廣深港高鐵涉及兩地不同的運營主體和規則設計，必定有一定時間的磨合期。港鐵必須盡快循多種途徑，宣傳高鐵旅客規則，讓市民充分了解，減少開通初期的不必要誤會和麻煩。港鐵還應該在此過程中聆聽市民聲音和社會意見，累積經驗，日後完善旅客規則，務求更為便民、促進兩地往來。
當日公佈的廣深港高鐵旅客規則有7個章節共44條，均與乘客切身相關，自然引來各方關注。總括而言，乘客集中關心安全和便民兩方面的安排。
在安全方面，規則第十一條寫到，如果認為乘客威脅到公共健康及安全，或者違反相關法律，擾亂車站或者列車公共秩序等，可以拒絕乘客上車，但就沒有詳細解釋威脅公共健康和公共安全等定義，可能在執行初期造成一定誤解。另外，在禁止或限制運輸物品方面，港鐵的旅客規則亦與內地《鐵路旅客運輸規程》的規定有所不同，例如香港這邊限量攜帶2盒火柴和2個打火機，但內地的規程則可攜帶20盒火柴和5個打火機，這些細節差別，均有可能讓部分乘客因為不知而違反規定。
在便民措施上，最大的區別在於內地允許越站補票，只要繳付票價差額及少量手續費即可。但一旦跨境到香港西九龍，卻不允許越站補票，只能安排乘客返回原目的地，到西九龍站超過10分鐘後更會被當無票處理，除了繳付票價差額，更可能被收取1,500元至3,000元的附加費。事實上，內地旅客搭乘高鐵，買不到目的地車票，就隨便買一張同車次的短途票，上車再補票，這種越站補票的情況經常發生，尤其是在節假日高峰期。高鐵本月23日開通後，馬上就迎來中秋假期，如有內地旅客越站南下，被罰1,500元至3,000元，確實「肉赤」。因此，在高鐵通車前期，有關方面應該加強宣傳的力度和針對性，同時酌情從寬執行這些不涉及安全的規則，給乘客一個了解、適應的過程。
值得注意的是，港鐵公佈的旅客規則與乘客息息相關，但只在網上公佈，恐怕普通乘客未必留意，日後在乘搭高鐵時，可能違反有關規則，引起不必要的麻煩。港鐵必須抓緊時間，通過各種平台和渠道，加緊宣傳工作，讓市民和旅客充分了解，減少不必要的誤會，這對於確保高鐵運作暢順至關重要。本港市民在乘搭高鐵時，亦應該多個心眼，提前做足功課。
在宣傳介紹的過程中，港鐵亦應藉機聽取市民、乘客的意見，檢討現行規則中，有哪些可以修訂得更科學合理、更人性化。尤其是本港高鐵都是跨境列車，自然必須遵守香港一方和內地一方的規則，港鐵有必要與內地有關部門協調兩地規則的不同之處，盡可能將規定統一，最大限度地方便兩地乘客往來。（標題為編輯所加）（摘錄自香港文匯報社評12-9-2018）
The MTR should enhance the effort to educate the public the rules of the XRL
【譯文】The MTR corporation released the Rules for Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail Cross-Boundary Passenger Transport on September 11, which listed out matters that passengers should pay attention to, both on board the bullet trains and at the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station. Being a cross-boundary transportation system between Hong Kong and mainland China, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) involves operators and regulations from both sides, therefore teething problems are to be expected.
The MTR must do its best to educate the public via different channels the rules of the XRL, so as to minimise unnecessary misunderstandings and troubles at the initial stages of the XRL's opening. The MTR should also listen humbly to the views expressed by the people and seek to refine the Rules in the future, so that exchange between Hong Kong and mainland China could be further promoted while passengers could enjoy a more convenient journey.
The document is seven-chapter long and contains some 44 passenger rules in total. As rules and regulations are one of the major concerns of passengers, the document has been put under the spotlight by the public since its release. To sum up, public concerns mainly focus on two areas - passenger safety and convenience.
Regarding passenger safety, article 11 of the Rules states that if passengers are deemed as a threat to public health or safety, have violated the relevant laws or regulations, or disrupted the public order of stations or trains, they could be prohibited from boarding the trains. However, the Article did not define clearly under what circumstances or which actions would passengers be "deemed as a threat to public health or safety". Such ambiguity may lead to misunderstandings at the initial stages of the XRL's opening.
In addition, it has been pointed out that the MTR's regulations on prohibited and restricted items are different from mainland China's Regulations for Railway Passenger Traffic. For instance, the MTR has limited the number of match boxes and lighters to two, but its mainland Chinese counterpart allows 20 boxes of matches and 5 lighters. Differences in these small details could lead to passengers breaking the Rules without knowing.
Regarding convenience, the major difference between Hong Kong and mainland China's system is that China allows passengers to over-travel as long as the fare is adjusted, while Hong Kong does not allow over-travelling to the West Kowloon terminus. Passengers who mistakenly arrived at Hong Kong can only return to the original station. If they do not report to station staff within 10 minutes of arrival, they will be treated as travelling without a ticket and must pay the fare difference apart from being fined an extra HK$1,500 to 3,000. In mainland China, it is a very common practice for those who cannot buy a ticket to purchase a short-haul ticket of the same train first to get onboard, and then pay up the fare adjustment to get to their destinations. This is especially true during peak holiday seasons. As Mid-Autumn Festival is only one day after XRL's opening on September 23, it would be rather unfortunate if some innocent mainland tourists fall into this trap and get fined HK$1,500 to 3,000. For the sake of giving time to passengers to understand and adapt, the MTR Corporation should step up the promotion of passenger rules during the initial stages, and use discretion when passengers violate rules that do not concern safety.
Interestingly, the MTR decided to only publish the Rules on the internet despite its importance. There could be unnecessary trouble when passengers violate the Rules of which they are not aware of. The MTR must pay close attention and publicise the passenger rules through various platforms, so that passengers can fully understand and therefore reduce unnecessary misunderstandings. This is essential to ensure the smooth operation of the XRL. Passengers from Hong Kong should also do their part and familiarise themselves with the new regulations.
As the XRL service is being promoted, the MTR should take the opportunity to listen to the public, with a view to refining the Rules so that it becomes more reasonable and humanised. The XRL being a cross-boundary transportation system means all passengers should abide by the laws and regulations of both Hong Kong and mainland China. For the sake of passengers' convenience, the MTR should coordinate with the Chinese authorities and seek to harmonise the XRL's regulations as much as possible.■龐嘉儀
Exercise
1. 「八縱八橫」高速鐵路主通道
2. 「一地兩檢」
3. 預售
4. 粵港澳大灣區
Answer
1. "8 Verticals, 8 Horizontals" National High-speed Rail Network
2. "co-location" arrangement
3. advance purchase
4. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area