Latest news with #crowd control
South China Morning Post
02-08-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's MTR adopts AI-powered systems for deploying trains, crowd control
Hong Kong's rail giant has implemented two AI-powered systems to help formulate train deployment and crowd control plans for major events at Kai Tak Sports Park, with plans to consider expanding their applications. The MTR Corporation said on Friday that the two artificial intelligence (AI) tools – a ridership prediction model and intelligent crowd diversion system – had helped disperse passengers efficiently from major events at the park. The ridership prediction model, developed by the firm and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, relies on billions of data sets collected from government surveys and MTR operations to predict passenger distribution across the entire rail network. It also analysed the rail firm's historical passenger data spanning more than 100 days when concerts and sports events had taken place at Hong Kong Stadium and the Hong Kong Coliseum to generate virtual scenarios after such events. 'We can therefore predict the number of passengers, their travel directions, and the stations and lines they use after an event ends,' said Chan Hing-keung, the MTR Corp's chief of operations for engineering service and innovations. 'With the prediction, we can cross-check with the analysis by the operations team, and determine whether the frequency of trains could disperse the crowds.' Launched in July 2024, the model was first used at the end of that month, when four stations on the Kwun Tong line were temporarily closed as the rail operator upgraded its facilities.
South China Morning Post
21-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong police primed to support future tourism and mega-event ambitions
Hong Kong's police chief has said that the force is fully prepared to support the hosting of more mega-events in the city, given its experience of crowd control gained at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said their preparations for the opening of the main stadium in Kai Tak Sports Park had equipped officers to manage a greater number of major events, emphasising the force's commitment to spectator satisfaction. 'Every time after the events or before the events, we've seen a lot of smiley faces. This is what we really treasure,' Chow told the Post. Before becoming police chief, Chow served as deputy commissioner for operations and was a member of an interdepartmental task force responsible for the smooth operation of Kai Tak Sports Park. He organised various drill exercises to simulate crowd control and traffic conditions in the lead-up to its March opening. Beyond backing the government's initiative to host more mega-events, the police chief also expressed support for increasing public access to the force's old Yau Ma Tei Police Station, which has become a popular photo opportunity for mainland Chinese tourists. The station, housed in a colonial building, is one of the government's nine 'hotspot projects' aimed at boosting in-depth tourism in Hong Kong.
