MTR Corporation takes battering from coronavirus, as Hong Kong rail operator reports 40 per cent drop in passenger numbers in August

Official figures show domestic journeys for month at 78.5 million, down from 131 million last year

Numbers down across all parts of network with Airport Express down nearly 90 per cent and cross-border services almost 100 per cent

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Passenger numbers on the MTR network are down across the board. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 5:20pm, 19 Sep 2020Updated: 5:45pm, 19 Sep 2020

Passenger numbers on Hong Kong’s metro dropped 40 per cent in August as the third wave of the coronavirus hammered the city’s economy, and social-distancing measures kept people at home.

Official figures from the city’s rail operator, the MTR Corporation, showed 78.5 million domestic journeys on its network in August, down from 131 million a year ago, and a further 14 per cent drop from the 91 million rides in July.

With global air travel almost at a standstill, the Airport Express also suffered, with journeys down 88.6 per cent last month to 148,000, from about 1.3 million a year ago.

On its cross-border rail services, passenger numbers in August dropped 99.6 per cent to just 33,000 from about 8 million year on year, as the MTR Corp halted most operations on the East Rail Line from early February to limit the spread of the virus.

Passengers wait for the train at the Kowloon Tong MTR station. Photo: Sam Tsang

For the MTR Corp’s intercity, light rail and bus services, patronage dropped 41 per cent year on year to about 11 million, from 18.5 million.

With services on the high-speed rail link to Guangzhou on hold since late January amid the pandemic, August figures remained at zero.