Dozens of rail users overcharged by faulty turnstile at station

The MTR Corporation has urged Octopus card users on the newly merged rail network to pay attention to the fares they are charged after a software error resulted in nearly 100 being overcharged up to HK$4.

Most of the errors occurred at one wide turnstile - of the kind designed for wheelchair-bound passengers and those with bulky luggage - at Kowloon Tong station, the MTR Corporation said. The turnstile has been closed for inspection.

Head of operations Wilfred Lau Cheuk-man said the fault seemed to have been confined to stations between Kowloon Bay and stops on the Ma On Shan Line formerly operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. However, an anonymous contributor to an online forum reported being overcharged on a trip on the East Rail line formerly operated by the KCRC.

Mr Lau said the corporation's engineering team was alerted to the problem after staff received 12 complaints on Sunday from passengers who said they had been charged the old fares when they switched lines and boarded a train formerly operated by the KCRC.

Since Sunday, passengers who switch to or from trains on former KCR lines have enjoyed savings of between HK$1 and HK$7.

The operations chief said the 12 complainants had travelled from Kowloon Bay to three stations on the Ma On Shan Line - City One, Heng On and Sha Tin Wai - and all had passed through the wide gate at Kowloon Tong. But the problem seemed to be random since only 91 of the 250 passengers who used the gate on Sunday were overcharged.