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Morning commuters change platforms on the East Rail Line on July 14, 2020, as Hong Kong battled its third wave of coronavirus infections. New nine-car trains were introduced on the line on February 6, 2021, amid the city’s fourth wave of Covid-19. Photo: Felix Wong
OpinionLetters

Letters | New MTR trains are a nightmare for Hong Kong’s daily commuters on East Rail Line

  • The once smooth and efficient commute is now fraught with service disruptions, and overcrowded carriages make it a health risk during a pandemic
Hong Kong MTR
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Having earlier been impressed by the efficiency and punctuality of the East Rail Line, I’m now annoyed by its frequent train disruptions and overcrowded carriages after the launch of the mixed operation of nine-carriage and 12-carriage trains earlier this month.

For commuters like me who travel from Tai Wo to Yau Ma Tei every day, the East Rail Line used to offer a smooth and reliable journey. You wouldn’t worry too much about service frequency, as trains arrived every two to three minutes. But the nine-carriage trains have made the commute a recurrent and terrifying nightmare due to their limited capacity and frequent signalling failures.

At around 6:30pm last Tuesday, February 9, there was a train outage between the Tai Wo and Fanling stations on the East Rail Line. The malfunction meant I had to wait longer for a train at Kowloon Tong station. Packed with commuters on the limited platform and inside the train (luckily, I didn’t take the nine-carriage train), the environment was a threat to public health at a time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is understandable that MTR Corporation should cut costs to reduce services due to the decline in passenger numbers and the risk of spreading the virus. Except for the peak hours, service between Hung Hom and Sheung Shui has been slowed down from intervals of seven minutes. However, some passengers still need to use the service every day, because of its reliability and proximity to their home or workplace. What makes it worse is that the operation of the nine-carriage trains has left the trains overcrowded, not to mention the frequently reduced services and technical problems.

Whether you think it’s risky or unnecessary, there is an urgent need for MTR Corp to review its technical issues and enhance train services. Comprehensive tests should have been done before the nine-carriage trains came into service. Or more trains should have been arranged to ensure safe and smooth journeys.

Announcements were heard on the platform asking passengers to “be understanding” and “accept their apology”. We have been very understanding and forgiving despite several train disruptions, so hopefully MTR fares should remain unchanged for the following year.

Ben Pang, Tai Po

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