The MTR Corp wants to install safety doors on its East Rail line and the new Sha Tin to Central link at the same time, saying this will save money and help overcome technical difficulties.
But it says it will try not to charge passengers a levy for the work, as was done on other parts of the network, and will not use any of the budget for the HK$60 billion new line to pay for it, leaving questions about where the money will come from.
Lawmakers reacted angrily to suggestions the government should pay, saying the MTR was earning enough to pay for its own work.
In a paper prepared for legislators - backed by the Transport and Housing Bureau - the MTR suggested the installation could be done in tandem with the Central line, which will link to East Rail and use the same doors and related equipment.
MTR chief operations officer for engineering Morris Cheung Siu-wa said yesterday this option would cost a lot less, but he did not know yet what the actual cost would be.
Cheung said technical issues related to fitting the East Rail doors as a stand-alone project could take 10 years to overcome. The project would require a new signalling system, new trains, new ways to fill the platform gaps, and redesigns of the platforms' structure and ventilation systems, he told a media briefing.