Latest news with #MableChan
South China Morning Post
21 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Traffic in Hong Kong's Tai Lam Tunnel up 10% on first day under government control
The Tai Lam Tunnel in Hong Kong's New Territories has seen a 10 per cent increase in traffic on its first day of operations after authorities took control and introduced cheaper fees. Advertisement Mable Chan, Secretary of Transport and Logistics, said on Monday that the government would also review the pricing at the Aberdeen and Shing Mun Tunnels as the electronic toll payment system across the city was completed. The government took control of Tai Lam Tunnel, which connects Yuen Long with western Tsuen Wan, in the early hours of Saturday after a 30-year franchise ended. Chan said traffic had increased by 10 per cent between midnight and 6am on Monday as she inspected the situation at the site in the morning, the first day of operations after the government's takeover of the tunnel. She also revealed that the traffic flow on June 1 increased by 40 per cent compared to previous Sundays. Advertisement Chan attributed the rise to the 'significant drop' in toll fees for private vehicles from HK$58 (US$7.40) to a fixed toll of HK$18 throughout the day on Sundays and general holidays
RTHK
a day ago
- Business
- RTHK
Early traffic spike shows Tai Lam Tunnel vision works
Early traffic spike shows Tai Lam Tunnel vision works Mable Chan says traffic at the Tai Lam Tunnel was up 10 percent on the first working day since the takeover. Photo: RTHK The secretary for transport and logistics said traffic on the first working day since the Tai Lam Tunnel takover, which went up by 10 percent, was within expectations. The rise came in the wee hours between midnight and 6 am on Monday after the government took over the tunnel on Saturday, when a new time-varying toll and a switchover to HKeToll were also implemented. Charges for all vehicle types were reduced by 22 to 80 percent under the new regime. Private cars are charged HK$45 during peak hours, HK$30 during regular periods and HK$18 during off-peak periods from Monday to Saturday. A flat rate of HK$18 is implemented throughout Sundays and public holidays. Speaking after a tunnel inspection, Mable Chan said she hopes the new arrangement can alleviate congestion on Tuen Mun Road by 5 percent. "Traffic was up by about 40 percent when compared to the average flow on Sundays," she said. "This was within our expectations because private cars are now charged HK$18, a significant drop on the previous HK$58 charge. "So far the traffic situation is within our expectations and under control. "We hope that cars will opt for Tai Lam Tunnel as this will help alleviate peak-hour congestion on Tuen Mun Road. "We hope traffic on Tuen Mun Road can be cut by 5 percent during peak hours." The Transport and Logistics Bureau will closely monitor the traffic situation, Chan said. The government, she added, will review charges for its tunnels and consider looking into those for Aberdeen and Shing Mun tunnels first as they have remained unchanged for years. It will also look into imposing a charge for the Central Kowloon Route that is set to be completed by the end of the year to recover costs, she said. She added that her bureau will brief lawmakers on the review on tunnel tolls this month.
HKFP
26-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong's MTRC fined HK$19.2 million for 5-hour service disruption on Tseung Kwan O Line
Hong Kong's railway operator, the MTR Corporation (MTRC), will have to pay HK$19.2 million in fines for the five-hour service disruption on its Tseung Kwan O Line last week, the city's transport minister has said. Mable Chan, secretary for transport and logistics, also said on Monday that the MTRC would provide 50 per cent fare concessions for a day due to the service failure on Thursday and two similar events on another line earlier this year, under a 'service performance rebate' mechanism. Train service on the Tseung Kwan O Line was severely disrupted during rush hour, including a five-hour halt in the cross-harbour section between North Point and Yau Tong stations, due to a 'power supply disruption,' according to the MTRC. The incident followed two separate service disruptions on the East Rail Line in February and April that involved malfunctioning engineering trains. During a special Legislative Council (LegCo) subcommittee meeting on Monday, Chan said the government had demanded that the MTRC conduct a 'comprehensive and systematic' review of its train systems to strengthen the risk assessment and resilience of its services. 'I hope the MTRC can be ahead of any problems instead of having to follow up and react to them after they occur,' Chan told lawmakers in Cantonese. 'The string of [service delay] incidents has shown that the MTRC's repair and maintenance systems indeed have room for improvement,' she added. Chan also said she demanded that the MTRC submit an investigative report on the Thursday incident to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department within a month. Jeny Yeung, the MTRC's managing director for Hong Kong transport services, said at the same LegCo meeting that the company's preliminary investigation suggested that failures in some components of the overhead cables were the cause of the incident. Cheris Lee, chief of operating and metro segment at the MTRC, said the company's engineers had located a misalignment of the 'jumper wire,' a device that connects electric circuits to trains, which they believed to be the cause of the power supply failure. Yeung said the company would also replace outdated information systems of four lines – the Tseung Kwan O Line, the Kwun Tong Line, the Tsuen Wan Line, and the Island Line – in the next few years. The Tseung Kwan O line was suspended at 5.14pm on Thursday. Service was partially resumed at around 8.40pm and was only fully restored at 10.33pm, according to the MTRC. Under the service performance rebate mechanism, which was revamped in 2023, the MTRC has to pay HK$9.6 million for any delay of up to four hours during rush hour, and any additional hour of delay will cost the company an extra HK$4.8 million. The money will be refunded to passengers through a fare promotion.
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's MTR Corp fined HK$19.2 million and will offer half-price fares for day
Hong Kong's railway operator, the MTR Corporation , has been ordered to offer a day of half-price fares after being hit with a HK$19.2 million (US$2.4 million) penalty over a five-hour service suspension on the Tseung Kwan O line last week, according to the transport minister. The incident was the third traffic disruption in four months caused by technical failures, drawing strong criticism from lawmakers on Monday. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan also pledged to consider reflecting incidents that may affect service and passengers with the company's remuneration. During a legislative panel meeting, Chan confirmed that the HK$19.2 million penalty for the Tseung Kwan O line disruption would be allocated for passenger rebates. She added that further funds would be set aside for similar incidents in February and April involving engineering trains, which the government viewed with 'grave concern'. 'The cumulative funds for such rebates will mean there will be a day with half-priced rides for people,' Chan said. 'This is to reflect the impact on people when incidents happen during those hours.' Chan said she would 'definitely' raise lawmaker Chan Hok-fung's suggestion of performance-linked pay for management during discussions with the company's board of directors.
RTHK
26-05-2025
- RTHK
MTR to compensate commuters HK$19m for stoppages
MTR to compensate commuters HK$19m for stoppages Mable Chan says MTR Corporation has to submit a report on Thursday's incident within a month. Photo: Screenshot from Legislative Council meeting The government said on Monday that MTR Corporation will offer the public HK$19.2 million in compensation over the latest incidents to affect the rail giant, including one last week that disrupted services on the entire Tseung Kwan O line for more than five hours. The Tseung Kwan O line stoppage began at the start of the evening rush hour, sending tens of thousands of passengers struggling to find alternative transport following an apparent short circuit in overhead cables. Speaking at a Legco subcommittee meeting focusing on railway matters, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said the government is highly concerned and disappointed over the incident. The MTR Corp, she noted, would therefore give passengers a 50 percent discount on rides on a special fare day – in addition to improving its services. "The MTR is the public's main means of transportation," Chan told lawmakers. "I hope the MTR Corporation understands that the greater its capacity, the greater its responsibility. "The Transport and Logistics Bureau has already told the MTR to submit a report on Thursday's incident within a month – and to review the workings and resilience of its rail network – and how it responds to emergencies," she added. MTR managing director Jeny Yeung again apologised for the incident, saying affected passengers would get extra reward points on its app. "We will seriously review and improve our incident response capacity and enhance information dissemination... to inform passengers of the time needed for repair and to allow them to better plan their trips," she said in a response to lawmakers who had lashed out over repeated incidents in the past few months. "We'll also continue to introduce suitable innovative technologies to enhance the reliability of railway operations." Several lawmakers noted that the latest incident reflected "serious inadequacies" in the MTRC's maintenance work and emergency response capability. The fare cut came under a penalty mechanism that requires the MTRC to increase the amount of the compensation exponentially the longer the service suspension lasts. Under the mechanism, every three to four hours of service suspension brings a fine of HK$9.6 million, with each extra hour costing a further HK$4.8 million even if the disruption lasts under an hour. The MTR Corp is on track to invest a total of HK$65 billion to maintain its railway assets, while also making better use of technology to improve maintenance standards following a string of incidents. Besides the Tseung Kwan O service outage, there were two other disruptions in February and April. The latest Tseung Kwan O incident occurred just one day after the MTRC said it has entered a "very exciting growth period" with multiple investment projects amounting to over HK$100 billion to expand its services.
