New MTR stations on Kwun Tong Line to come at a price, with raft of cheaper bus services set for axe
Long-awaited new stations at Ho Man Tin and Whampoa set to go live on October 23, but Kowloon City district councillor decries loss of cheaper transport options as the trade-off
Local residents looking forward to the opening of the MTR’s long-awaited Ho Man Tin and Whampoa stations will have to accept a trade-off for the new rail services, with a host of other cheaper transport options either due to be axed or scaled back after the extension to the Kwun Tong Line opens on October 23.
In an effort to align other public transport options with the new train services, the Transport Department said it planned to put in place four new connecting minibus routes to the rail stations, but would remove one bus route and shorten another, axe a minibus service and reduce the frequency of 33 bus routes and 13 minibuses.
A department spokesperson said the four new connecting minibus routes would be introduced upon the opening of the two rail stations, while the other changes would be implemented gradually after six months of operations, depending on the actual situation.
Announcing the upcoming opening of the HK$7.2 billion extension on Wednesday, MTR Corporation operations director Adi Lau said the two new stations would be able to cope with 146,000 residents and help ease traffic congestion in the district.
This is really robbing the poor to feed the rich
“With the new rail services coming to this area, road traffic congestion is expected to ease, bringing reduced direct travel times to the whole community,” he said.
The 2.6km extension, originally scheduled to open in August last year, will run from Yau Ma Tei to Whampoa, the line’s new terminus, with one station in between at Ho Man Tin which will eventually serve as an interchange station for the Sha Tin to Central link.
Whampoa will be served by a single platform and provide a train service every four minutes during peak periods, while at Ho Man Tin station there will be a train every two minutes.
During weekday non-peak periods, the average train service frequency will be three minutes for all Kwun Tong line stations. The ride between Whampoa and Yau Ma Tei will take five minutes.
Fares will be set according to the MTR’s existing distance-based fare structure. Ho Man Tin passengers will enjoy a discount of 50 cents if using connecting minibuses to reach the rail station.
Kowloon City district councillor Ho Hin-ming of the Liberal Party accused the government of pandering to the interests of the MTR Corporation, saying the arrangements for the new services had left the public with no other transport options besides the trains.
“This is really robbing the poor to feed the rich,” he said. “Many residents complain to me that the rail fares are too high for them. Besides this, Kowloon City District Council hasn’t agreed to the plan.”
He cited one example of the planned removal of KMB route 212 from Whampoa to Sham Shui Po, which charges a fare of HK$5.1, compared with the fare of HK$6.7 for the same journey on the new MTR line.
Ho added that since Ho Man Tin station was far from many housing estates in the area, residents would either have to walk for 20 minutes or take a connecting minibus to get there.
“Coupled with the minibus ride, the total cost of taking the MTR is surely higher than taking a bus. Why doesn’t the government leave the bus services unchanged to provide more choices for passengers?” he said.
Open days offering residents a chance to preview the new stations will be held on October 15 and 22.
