Pull together to overcome crisis, new MTR Corp boss tells staff at Hong Kong’s subway operator

On his first day heading the embattled MTR Corporation, Jacob Kam Chak-pui has called for a concerted effort from the company’s 48,000-strong global team to ride out a confidence crisis. Kam has vowed to restore the rail giant’s reputation, which has been tarnished by scandal and controversy.

In an email to all staff on Monday, Kam, who has ascended to CEO from his previous position of managing director, called for continued professionalism as he admitted that the once proud reputation of the MTR Corp had been tainted by a series of safety scandals and mishaps over the past year.

His predecessor Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen was forced to take early retirement following the allegations of shoddy work last year on the HK$97.1 billion (US$12.3 billion) Sha Tin-Central rail link, Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project.

The 57-year-old, a 24-year veteran of the firm, noted his mixed feelings, stating: “On the one hand, I feel genuinely delighted to continue working with all of you.

“On the other hand, I am also deeply aware of the difficulties that we have been dealing with during the past several months. The issues in the civil construction work managed by us and in our new signalling system tests, have aroused much concern among the public and tarnished our once proud reputation.”

Departing MTR CEO says troubled rail giant has learned lesson

Reaping a net profit of about HK$10 billion in each of the past five years, the rail operator has successfully extended its operations to mainland China, Macau, Australia and Europe.

However, the recent controversies over the scandal-hit Sha Tin-Central rail link and the city’s first MTR train crash two weeks ago have hit the MTR Corp’s image. The collision led to an unprecedented suspension of service between two of the busiest stations on the network, Admiralty and Central, on the Tsuen Wan line for 48 hours.

Kam warned of a bumpy ride ahead as the rail firm still needed to resolve many issues in the wake of the service failure and scandals. The MTR Corp is still investigating the cause of the train crash, triggered by a failure of the new signalling system under a trial run, while digging out a large amount of paperwork for the Sha Tin-Central link which has gone missing. The missing documents will be the subject of an investigation by a government-appointed commission of inquiry.

“We can anticipate challenging times ahead as we implement the necessary improvement measures to resolve these issues,” Kam said.

MTR train system explained: profits, property and punctuality spelt success before the scandals

Identifying three main priorities for the rail giant’s immediate future, Kam said staff needed to rebuild the MTR’s reputation with a focus on new rail projects and delivering a safe and reliable service.

“First, we must rebuild our reputation, especially with regard to our new railway projects. Second, we need to remain focused on providing safe, reliable and value-for-money service for the millions of passengers we carry every day. And, third, we have to ensure that our large and complex business runs smoothly both in Hong Kong and globally,” he said.

Kam said that to realise their goals, staff needed to maintain a spirit of “open communication”.

“I will strive to communicate openly with you, and I expect the same in return,” he said.

“I am counting on your commitment of continuous professional and high-standard works so that we can together serve all our customers better and rebuild a better future for MTR and for our people.”

Kam, a doctoral degree holder in mechanical engineering from the University of London, joined the rail company in 1995 and has held various management positions in the operations, projects and China and international business divisions.

On Monday, representatives of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions also conveyed their expectations and requests during a meeting with Kam, including extending the retirement age from the current 60 to 65, raising starting salaries and welfare for rail staff, and reforming the pay structure.

The group’s vice-chairman Tam Kin-chiu called for more regular meetings with Kam about the staff’s concerns and opinions on many issues, saying Kam had shown his sincerity by meeting them on his first day in the job.

“During our meeting with Kam, we just expressed our requests and let him think them over. As someone who is familiar with the MTR operations and its staff, I think Kam is the ideal person for the CEO job. We all hope that he can lead us to ride out the storm and reach a new milestone,” he said.