Amid protest closures, use of Hong Kong’s MTR network is down by a quarter

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According to latest figures from the MTR Corporation, domestic ridership was just over 108 million for October, a new low since April 2012.

Hong Kong’s embattled rail operator continued to shed customers in October, with ridership figures tumbling as metro stations closed early for most of the month in the face of political unrest and vandalism by radical protesters.

The Airport Express recorded the biggest drop in customer numbers, its patronage figures for the month plunging by 43 per cent year on year to 916,000. The grim figures came amid escalating protest woes for the MTR Corp, which in late August became a target of radical protesters, who accuse it of bowing to Beijing and colluding with police. Angry protesters have trashed its stations, set fire to and thrown petrol bombs at entrances, spray-painted graffiti on walls, and hurled objects onto tracks.

He pointed out that the government was likely to grant the MTR Corp development rights, instead of operation rights, on future rail projects such as the Tuen Mun South extension, so the rail operator was guaranteed to be profitable in the long run. He also said the drastic plunge in patronage on the Airport Express came as no surprise as – apart from the sharp drop in visitors to the city – the rail service often skipped Kowloon and Tsing Yi stations at night and during weekends. Check-in services at Kowloon station were also suspended on many occasions.

 

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