MTR limits luggage weight to combat parallel traders

The MTR Corporation will restrict the weight of passengers’ luggage at four stations near the border from next week, to crack down on parallel-goods traders, the railway announced on Friday.

Beginning on Tuesday, a new rule will ban passengers from carrying luggage weighing over 32 kilograms onto trains in Sheung Shui, Fanling, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau.

Electronic scales will be placed outside station entrances, and MTR officers will weigh heavy-looking luggage before travellers can enter.

If passengers refuse to have their luggage weighed, they can be denied entry, given a warning or even prosecuted.

MTR Corp’s head of operations, Francis Li, said the new measure was designed to complement an existing rule limiting the size of luggage, to stop passengers transporting parallel goods in large amounts.

“We have to keep the impact of luggage on other passengers under control, and make sure passengers complete their journeys free of inconvenience and interference,” Li said.