RUSH-HOUR travellers can expect more frequent services once the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) completes the installation of a $700 million state-of-the-art train control system.
Passengers using the Tsuen Wan line will be the first to benefit from the new anti-collision equipment when work on that stretch is completed in a year's time.
MTRC chief engineer (operations) Philip Gaffney said customers would have a more comfortable, less crowded journey.
The equipment will allow the MTR to run two extra trains an hour in each direction, each capable of carrying 2,500 passengers, by reducing the time between trains to 100 seconds.
Sophisticated monitors on each train will continuously 'talk' to a computer in a control box on every station platform.
This information will be used to limit the distance between each train and identify any faults. The data will also be fed back to the MTR's central control room to give an overview of the whole system.