Are the MTR’s early closures necessary for repairs or a ‘de facto curfew’? Either way, Hong Kong commuters are in for more delays
- Closing stations, curtailing services were ‘hard decisions’ taken in consultation with relevant departments, corporation says
- Massive number of repairs, shortage of spare parts mean disruption and inconvenience likely to continue for weeks to come
Some critics have accused the MTR Corporation of helping the government to impose a “de facto curfew” on the city by ending train services early, a charge the rail giant rejects.
The past two weeks of reduced services have left commuters scrambling for alternative means of getting about, which mean much longer journey times. The MTR is Hong Kong’s main mode of public transport, handling almost 6 million passengers every day.
The MTR Corp said that, as of October 13, protesters had caused extensive damage at 85 out of 94 heavy rail stations and 57 of 68 light rail stations, setting fires, smashing up station equipment and ripping out fixtures. More than 1,300 turnstiles, 800 ticketing and add-value machines, 900 CCTV cameras, 100 lifts and escalators and 90 sets of roller shutters were seriously damaged.
The vandalism resulted in the complete shutdown of the entire network on October 5, for the first time in its 40-year history.
