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Looking to the future, Lincoln Leong said it had awarded a HK$3 billion contract to upgrade the signalling system, aiming to increase carrying capacity. Photo: Sam Tsang

MTR announces half-price discount after worst performance in six years

The company dismissed speculation that the promotion was to defuse passengers' grievances over repeated fare hikes in recent years

Timmy Sung

The MTR Corporation yesterday offset reports of its worst time-keeping performance in six years by announcing its first-ever special discounts for passengers during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The promotion will offer a special half-price discount for adults travelling on the network with an Octopus card on the second and third days of next month's holidays. Those who already receive concessions, such as elderly and disabled people, children and students, will pay HK$1 per journey.

The railway company insisted the surprise move was to thank passengers for their support over the past 35 years and to celebrate the opening of the West Island Line last month. It dismissed speculation that the promotion was to defuse passengers' grievances over repeated fare hikes in recent years. In June, fares were increased by 3.6 per cent.

The news of the holiday discount was announced as MTR rounded up its service performance last year. Although the train on-time rate was maintained at more than 99.9 per cent, it dropped slightly from 99.94 per cent to 99.91 per cent - the lowest since 2008.

There were also 12 major incidents that disrupted train services for 31 minutes or more last year. Although this is five more than in 2013, Dr Jacob Kam Chak-pui, MTR operations director, pointed out the amount of time lost had dropped.

"There were longer delays in 2013, but we avoided that in 2014," he said. "Although there were more incidents, the overall time [delayed] has reduced." He added that more than 1,100 train trips were added to the MTR network per week last year.

The company had to set aside HK$20 million for the 12 major delays to give commuters a 10 per cent discount on their next trip.

Lincoln Leong, MTR's acting chief executive defended the company's performance, saying it took "a lot of effort" to maintain the high standards despite an increase in passenger numbers.

He struck a positive note after a difficult year for the company which saw several major projects face costly delays and former chief executive Jay Walder leave abruptly a year earlier than scheduled.

Citing difficult ground conditions at the West Kowloon Terminus, the corporation revised the budget for the high-speed rail link to Guangzhou from HK$65 billion to HK$71 billion and pushed back its opening to 2017. In late November, it also had to announce it would redesign To Kwa Wan station on the Sha Tin-Central link, following an earlier discovery of centuries-old relics.

There was also a public outcry in the summer after MTR staff failed to retrieve a stray dog from the tracks, allowing it to be hit by a train near Fanling.

Looking to the future, Leong said it had awarded a HK$3 billion contract to upgrade the signalling system, aiming to increase carrying capacity.

It plans to replace the signalling system on seven lines - all except the East rail, West rail and Ma On Shan lines - in phases.

Kam said once it was completed it should reduce the number of delays and increase capacity by 10 per cent, meaning it would be able to carry an extra 100 million passengers a year.

"The system design is more robust, [there are] fewer components alongside the track, so hopefully the chances of a breakdown will be reduced," he said.

The upgrading work will start with the Tsuen Wan Line next year and finish in 2018. All the replacements are expected to be completed by 2026.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: MTR gives half-price gift for new year
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