Latest news with #Tseung Kwan O
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
MTR must take to heart its duty to minimise service disruption
Only last Sunday Hong Kong's railway operator had offered commuters half-fare rides to compensate for a serious service breakdown on a major rail line two months ago. So it was regrettable that the operation of the Tseung Kwan O line was disrupted again during rush hour yesterday morning, leaving passengers frustrated about the repeated malfunctions and inadequate contingency plans. MTR Corporation first confirmed the service disruption at 7.49am, saying there would be a five-to-eight-minute delay to train journeys as some signalling equipment was not functioning properly. Train frequencies were later adjusted to one every six minutes between North Point and Po Lam, and one every eight minutes between Tiu Keng Leng and Lohas Park. The delays resulted in long queues on train platforms at some stations, with some passengers having to wait for several trains to get on board. The disruption lasted less than three hours, not as long as the breakdown on May 22 when services were affected for five hours. But those caught by the delays were understandably outraged. Some asked why there were apparently no shuttle bus services arranged by MTR Corp or reinforcement by other transport operators this time. The frustration underlines the high standards expected of the rail operator. Considering the MTR's reputation as a world-class urban transport system running with clockwork precision for more than four decades, passengers may feel inconvenienced by the slightest technical glitch. The signalling malfunction on the Tseung Kwan O line yesterday was not the first. The breakdown in May forced tens of thousands of people to scramble for alternative transport home in the evening, after a displaced overhead cable component in a tunnel section triggered problems in the power supply and the signalling system.
South China Morning Post
12-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How can Hong Kong's MTR Corp get back on track amid funding, manpower woes?
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu was stern-faced and did not mince his words as he took the MTR Corporation to task for 'inadequacies' in the way it responded to emergencies and planned for disruptions. Advertisement He spelled out what he expected of the city's rail operator when he spoke on May 27, five days after the third service disruption in four months due to technical failures. He demanded action to prevent incidents, which could affect thousands of the rail system's 5 million daily riders. But if such incidents still happened, it had to do better in responding and minimising inconvenience to commuters. The most recent five-hour breakdown on May 22 affected the entire Tseung Kwan O line during the evening rush hour, leaving tens of thousands of people scrambling to find their way home. Lee told the MTR Corp to carry out a comprehensive review of the entire rail network, strengthen its emergency response and contingency handling capabilities, and improve alternative transport arrangements for commuters when services were suspended. Advertisement Experts and observers welcomed that dressing down by the city leader, but also highlighted a number of issues the rail operator had to grapple with, not least its daunting funding challenges and a persistent shortage of skilled technical staff. Despite a near-perfect punctuality rate of 99.9 per cent and a net profit of HK$15.8 billion (US$2 billion) last year, the MTR Corp has been plagued by a series of management crises and safety incidents since 2018.
