Immigration Department figures showed that at least 227,538 Hong Kong residents had left the city across all border points as of 10am, while inbound traffic stood at 17,653.
Long queues were seen at various land-based checkpoints in the morning, including Lo Wu crossing and the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus.
“As it is peak travel period, there are currently large crowds crossing the boundary at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau,” the rail operator said.
“Additional staff have been deployed to East Rail Line stations to assist passengers. Passengers are advised to reserve ample time for their travels and consider using other control points for boundary crossing.”
The MTR Corp earlier said it planned to boost services on most of its lines throughout the holiday period, with 300 extra train trips scheduled to help cope with demand.
The Transport Department issued a pair of similar warnings shortly after 10am on Friday as the surge in traffic also caused delays for motorists looking to travel across the Shenzhen Bay and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridges.
Unsure how to spend your Easter public holiday? Hong Kong offers events galore
Unsure how to spend your Easter public holiday? Hong Kong offers events galore
Easter Sunday falls on March 31, while the traditional Chinese tomb-sweeping day to honour ancestors takes place on April 4.
Easter is not a public holiday on the mainland.
The department said it expected heavy traffic at land crossings over the period, with about 207,000 people each day using the Lo Wu checkpoint, 169,000 at the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line and 143,000 via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
