The government announced on Wednesday evening that the express rail link between Hong Kong and the mainland will resume on January 15 after a three-year stoppage because of the pandemic.

In a statement, a government spokesman said that at the initial stage, there will be services between Hong Kong and Futian, Shenzhenbei (Shenzhen North) and Guangzhounan (Guangzhou South) stations, as well as new services to and from Guangzhoudong (Guangzhou East) station.

The trains will make stops at Guangmingcheng, Humen, Qingsheng, and the newly added Dongguannan (Dongguan South) and Dongguan stations.

The spokesman said the West Kowloon Control Point will operate from 6.30am to 11.30pm, adding that passengers just need to present a valid ticket and no booking is required at the checkpoint.

But people travelling to and from the mainland must obtain a negative PCR test result within 48 hours.

"The HKSAR Government has been working closely with the relevant Mainland authorities and railway operators to ensure that the stations, trains, supporting facilities and manpower arrangements are well prepared," the statement read.

In a Facebook post, Chief Executive John Lee thanked the central government for giving the green light to the resumption of high-speed train services, adding that disciplined services have conducted drills at the control point to ensure smooth operation.

The resumption of the high-speed rail link comes a week after the border reopening.