Hong Kong rail operator probes leaking of information on service ‘weak spots’ as trains run smoothly after protests kept to minimum at stations
- Action had been planned at Kowloon Tong, Lai King and Fortress Hill stations
- But protesters mark month since attacks at Yuen Long by showing videos of incident and not delaying travellers
Hong Kong’s embattled rail operator the MTR Corporation was investigating whether staff revealed weak spots in its operations to outsiders, a union chief said on Wednesday, as anti-government protesters targeting train services made a comeback.
Lam Wai-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, said some people suspected to be MTR staff had leaked internal information on the internet to teach protesters how to disrupt train services.
“The leaked information included instructions in the train manual which shed light on ways for people to block the service and make the train come to a sudden halt, which can be very dangerous,” he said.
Union vice-chairman Tam Kin-chiu added: “The information concerns weak spots in MTR train operations. It also teaches people tricks on pushing open emergency doors and making the platform screen doors fail to function. Outsiders won’t know these kinds of tricks.”
Lam said he raised the possible leaks with the company’s management a few days ago and the rail giant promised to investigate, emphasising that misuse of the information could affect passenger and staff safety.