Passengers were relieved yesterday morning after Sheung Wan MTR station reopened on schedule following a 54-hour closure for major track works linking to the new HK$12.2 billion West Island Line.
Sheung Wan, the last station on the Island Line, reopened at 5.55am and the first train departed punctually at 6.05am. Some commuters said they had left home earlier than usual to ensure they would be on time for work if there were delays. In fact, services operated as usual at two-minute intervals.
'I left home at 7.40am, 20 minutes earlier than usual this morning,' said Macy Wong, 29, from Tseung Kwan O, a clerk who works in Central.
She said she had been unnerved by the 20-minute breakdown at Wan Chai station last Wednesday that stranded 2,400 passengers while smoke billowed from a train. 'The breakdown scared me,' she said. 'That is why I am being so cautious.'
Services between Admiralty and Sheung Wan were suspended on Friday night to allow more than 200 engineers to work round-the-clock shifts to dismantle 160 metres of old tracks and crossings at Sheung Wan and lay new ones.
The MTR Corp sought to relieve public doubts on Sunday with a statement announcing the work at Sheung Wan had gone smoothly. Some were anxious about breakdowns, however, and checked for news updates before leaving home.