Second MTR manager quits high-speed rail link project

A second top manager involved in the construction of the delayed high-speed railway will leave his job before the project finishes.

The MTR Corp confirmed yesterday that Alan Myers, general manager of construction at the cross-border link's West Kowloon terminus, will not renew his contract when it ends in two weeks. The confirmation - two days after media reports about Myers' departure surfaced - followed news that the corporation's projects director, Chew Tai-chong, would leave in October, more than a year before the end of his contract.

It came as research by the found that only a small part of the troubled section of the terminus area had been surveyed for underground conditions.

The MTR found rock formations at a higher level than expected and quoted it as one reason for the two-year delay in completion, until 2017.

Myers, who joined the company in May 2010, was responsible for overseeing construction at the terminus. He was previously involved in construction of the English Channel Tunnel, the Heathrow Express and a high-speed railway in Britain.

An MTR spokesman said yesterday that Myers had decided not to renew his contract at the end of last year for family reasons.