Hong Kong MTR payphones to be pulled from all subway stations
Some 390 to be dismantled from January as no suppliers step forward after carrier’s contract expires
Calling on payphones in MTR stations will soon become history as the rail operator will start phasing out station payphones next month, with some calling the move as signifying the end of an era.
Notices have been posted near payphones across all of MTR’s 87 stations, reading: “As advised by Shinetown Telecom they will be removing all station payphones as their contract with MTR is expiring.”
An MTR Corporation spokesman said the Hong Kong-based carrier had indicated it did not intend to continue service after its contract expires this Thursday.
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“We have since been contacting other suppliers, but so far no supplier has indicated any interest,” the spokesman said.
This meant some 390 station payphones will be dismantled starting month, with the MTR expecting the removal works to be completed by the end of the first quarter next year.
Shinetown Telecom is the largest private payphone operator in Hong Kong, according to its website.
Since 2003, it has installed payphones in all of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation’s West Rail stations, before gradually extending service to cover the entire East Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line in 2004. By 2009, its payphones spanned the entire rail network.