The latest section of the highly-anticipated Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong High-Speed Rail Link is almost ready. The line will eventually connect Hong Kong to two of the mainland's biggest cities. CGTN Reporter Mao Dan has a sneak peek of what to expect when the section opens next month.

A brand new transport hub years in the making, now just weeks away from its debut.

West Kowloon Station will become Hong Kong's new gateway to the Chinese mainland, once the region's section of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link opens in late September.

Workers are busy getting the station ready. They're testing ticket systems, auto-gates, security machines, and more.

JARVIS LAM WEST KOWLOON STATION MASTER "We are doing a lot of preparation work, for example, behind us are some entry gates, our staff are doing reliability test of the entry gates, testing ticketing machines and other facilities, escalator, fire and environmental control, power supply systems."

With an expected 80,000 passengers a day, a lot of preparation remains at West Kowloon.

JARVIS LAM WEST KOWLOON STATION MASTER "We have 28 counters and 39 ticketing machines here. After passengers buy their tickets, they will go through the ID check, entry gate, security and then go to the B3 departure level. The platform will be at the B4 level. B2 is the arrival level. There we have restaurants, shops, car parks, drop-off and other connections, for example, subway to Austin station."

Underground at the platform level, high speed trains have undergone trial operations for the last four months. Their journey takes them through a tunnel that connects the Hong Kong section of the express rail to the Chinese mainland's massive high speed rail network.

YIP TSZ SHAN HIGH-SPEED TRAIN DRIVER "The high speed rail is a new milestone for Hong Kong's transportation. I am honored to be among the first to join the service. I've spent over a year training for it. It really takes time to adjust to high speed trains. What I enjoy most - the mainland's beautiful landscapes."

Several newly-commissioned 8-car bullet trains will conduct the short-haul trips from Hong Kong to Guangzhou South Station, with five intermediate stops. And Long-haul trips will be made by existing Chinese mainland trains which will extend their destinations to Hong Kong.

MAO DAN HONG KONG "To maximize convenience to passengers, co-location arrangement will be implemented at the West Kowloon Station, which means the station is a joint immigration checkpoint where passengers go through the customs, immigration and quarantine procedures of both Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland successively in one place."

Hong Kong hopes the new link will not only bring a faster and more convenient means of cross-boundary transport to and from the Chinese mainland, but also broaden the scope of living for its people. Mao Dan CGTN, Hong Kong.