Video | Race the MTR: Passenger attempts to beat Mongkok to Prince Edward train - on foot
When queuing for a packed MTR train, you may have wondered whether it wouldn't be quicker just to go by foot. Well, one Hong Kong man decided to put this to the test.
When queuing for a packed MTR train, you may have wondered whether it wouldn't be quicker just to go by foot. Well, one Hong Kong man decided to put this to the test.
While a cameraman remained on the train to film his arrival, Heptonstall left the train and sprinted 380 metres, tackling 75 steps and two ticket barriers as he went, to beat the train from Mansion House to Cannon Street.
Crossing the distance in a sprightly 80 seconds, Heptonstall managed to beat the notoriously slow London subway system.
But could the MTR – a faster, newer railway – be similarly conquered?
Hong Kong Youtuber Ngan Cuz enlisted a fit friend to try his luck against the Tseun Wan line. Arriving at Mong Kok station he alighted the train, setting himself the challenge of running to the next stop, Prince Edward, with the goal of reboarding his train there.
The MTR's website estimates that the journey between the two stations takes three minutes, although the videomakers say the route takes the train just one minute and 50 seconds.
Either way, that meant that the runner would have to get a move on to give himself any hope of covering the 450-metre distance in time – not forgetting that he would also have to clear two ticket barriers.
With a camera strapped this his body, the video shows him speeding off the train and sprinting up an escalator, before making a smooth exit through the ticket barriers using an Octopus card to pass through the turnstile.
A cameraman remained on the train to record the scene and keep time.
Racing up the stairs, he arrived on the street and – possibly spurred on by his fetching pair of luminous pink running shoes – continued his man vs machine race, hurtling towards Prince Edward station.
The runner made it to Prince Edward and flew down the station's stairs, only to hesitate at the ticket barrier where some confused commuters caused a slight hold up.
Really up against the clock now, he then cleared one more escalator at top speed as the train inched closer to the platform ...
So did he make it? Watch and find out.
