Hong Kong’s railway staff union warns some MTR stations cannot survive further vandalism by anti-government protesters
- Carrie Lam toured Central station, accompanied by transport chief Frank Chan and top MTR Corp officials
- Station was among four forced to close following disruptions during Sunday protests
Hong Kong’s leader met transport operators on Monday to discuss escalating vandalism by anti-government protesters, even as the city’s rail operator warned that some stations had been so frequently damaged by rampaging mobs that they might not be able to survive further damage.
A day after radicals wreaked havoc at Central MTR station, trashing the facilities and setting one entrance ablaze, senior officials from the rail operator gave Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and transport chief Frank Chan Fan a first hand look at the damage and repair work.
With more than 40 per cent of the city’s 91 train stations damaged, the union representing MTR Corporation employees said they could not keep up with repair work at the rate protesters were causing destruction.
Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions vice-chairman Tam Kin-chiu appealed for an end to violent protests and chaos at MTR stations.
Our colleagues are exhausted and very discouraged as we are in a cycle of damage, repair and damage again
“Our colleagues are exhausted and very discouraged as we are in a cycle of damage, repair and damage again,” he said. “We restore the impaired facilities with components we take from equipment in unharmed stations, but we will soon run out of parts.