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MTR Corporation
Hong KongHong Kong Economy

MTR apologises for recent Hong Kong service delays and promises to invest in system maintenance

CEO insists its network is still “world class”, and has operated on schedule 99.9 per cent of the time

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MTR Corporation CEO Lincoln Leong vows to invest more resources into system maintenance work. Photo: Nora Tam
Ng Kang-chung

Hong Kong rail giant MTR Corporation has apologised to commuters again for the recent spate of service delays, and promised to spend “significantly” more on system maintenance.

But CEO Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen maintained that its network was still “world class” and had been running as scheduled for 99.9 per cent of the time.

Leong’s comments on Thursday came as he reported the company’s interim results for the first half of the year. MTR Corp, of which the government is a major shareholder, recorded a recurring profit of HK$4.48 billion, down 8 per cent from the same period last year.

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The rail operator has been hit by a series of service delays recently.

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On August 5, train service on the Kwun Tong Line was disrupted for more than 10 hours after a signalling problem. Trains only ran every five minutes despite emergency repairs, compared with the usual 3.75 minutes for weekends.

On Tuesday, another signalling problem hit the line during the evening rush, delaying service for an hour. It was the sixth major service disruption in two weeks.

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A signalling fault causes delays on the Kwun Tong Line. Photo: Edward Wong
A signalling fault causes delays on the Kwun Tong Line. Photo: Edward Wong

“We do understand public concern over recent incidents of service delay, and I apologise to the affected passengers for the inconvenience,” Leong said.

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