Coronavirus: Hong Kong rail giant MTR Corporation records 13-year low in passenger numbers in February
- Passenger numbers for domestic services was 71.4 million in February, down 43 per cent from 126 million a year ago, and the lowest since April 2007
- Ridership for Airport Express plunged 72 per cent year on year to 374,000, from 1.3 million, while train services to mainland China remained suspended
According to the latest figures from the MTR Corp, patronage for domestic services was 71.4 million in February, down 43 per cent from 126 million a year ago, and a new low since April 2007.
The Airport Express also suffered a devastating blow last month, with passenger numbers plunging almost 72 per cent year on year to 374,000, from 1.3 million – a new low in 17 years since May 2003, when the city was hit by the Sars outbreak.
As the rail operator suspended its high-speed and through train services to mainland China in late January amid the public health crisis, the high-speed rail recorded zero passengers in February.
For other cross-border rail services, passenger numbers for the month plunged almost 98 per cent to 189,000 from 8.37 million a year ago as the MTR Corp also shut down its remaining cross-border services on the East Rail Line in early February to limit the spread of the deadly virus.
Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun, former chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), said the grim figures were expected as people stayed off the streets with work-from-home arrangements and school closures, while travelling for other purposes was also greatly restricted.
“It’s surprising to see the domestic ridership has dropped by 43 per cent. It may be due to the fact that MTR is a very crowded public transport and people chose other means of transport, such as buses or private cars while going out, to minimise the risks of infection,” he said.
Quentin Cheng Hin-kei, spokesman for the Public Transport Research Team, a commuter concern group, believed the worst had yet to come as the government just announced measures to stop all foreign tourists from entering the city and restrict the business of bars and restaurants.
“The figures for April will be more distressing as we will see the real impact from the latest government measures. I think we need to wait until July or August to see some signs of the containment of the outbreak,” he said.
In August last year, the MTR Corp became a target of Hong Kong’s radical protesters, who accused it of bowing to Beijing and colluding with police to stifle their movement. Vandals have repeatedly trashed stations, set facilities on fire, hurled petrol bombs at its entrances, spray-painted graffiti on its walls and hurled objects onto tracks.
Earlier this month, when the embattled firm released its financial report for last year, it warned of more bad news in 2020, with the damaging legacy of the anti-government protests and the unfolding coronavirus outbreak expected to shave HK$1.3 billion off its recurrent business profit in the first two months of this year.
Including non-recurring items and property gains, the corporation’s net profit shrank 25.5 per cent to HK$11.93 billion (US$1.54 billion) last year.
Jason Chan Wai-chung, head of research at uSMART Securities, said the next few months would be crucial for the MTR’s operations. “If there are no signs of containment of the outbreak, the MTR’s business in the second quarter may not turn around. It will be detrimental to its overall earnings this year,” he said.
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