[1/5] A Chinese police officer stands guard at in the mainland port area of West Kowloon High-Speed Train Station Terminus on the first day of the resumption of rail service to mainland China, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Hong Kong, China, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG/BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - China resumed on Sunday high-speed rail services between Hong Kong and the mainland for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it dismantles travel curbs after Beijing scrapped quarantine for arrivals a week earlier. Operations at West Kowloon station have been smooth, with a flow of about 1,400 passengers by 10 a.m., said Cheung Chi-keung, head of operator MTR Corp’s (0066.HK) cross-boundary operations. Hong Kong's transport secretary, Lam Sai-hung, said he could not confirm when long-haul journeys would resume, but that would be after talks with mainland authorities. Reporting by Joyce Zhou and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Martin Quin Pollard and Shuyan Wang in Beijing; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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