The proposed merger between the MTRC and the KCRC was presented as a 'win-win situation' for all concerned, particularly the travelling public.
But one can't help feeling that the primary consideration behind the merger is to maximise government revenue from an eventual sale of a bigger share of its stake in the merged entity.
While the parallel existence of two railway companies in a small, compact city like Hong Kong has long been considered an oddity, many of the benefits that officials said would flow from the merger could have been implemented without it.
For one thing, the KCRC is fully-owned and the MTRC majority-owned by the government. Senior officials have always sat on their boards.
Duplication of networks for future rail projects could have been avoided and better interface between the railways arranged had there been firm guidance from the government.
Even the so-called second boarding charge could have been abolished immediately had the political will to do so existed.