Letters | Hong Kong lawmakers’ demands on MTR are a bridge too far

Readers discuss criticism of the rail operator, and concerns over a former leader’s expenditure

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Rail fans take a new Q-train from Choi Hung MTR station on November 27, 2022. The Q-trains being rolled out on the Island and Tsuen Wan Lines were ordered nearly a decade prior. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 11:30am, 20 Apr 2024

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MTR Corporation has seen better days. Lawmakers have pressed the rail operator to improve the maintenance of tracks and called for the government’s fare adjustment formula to include the company’s profits from rent, advertising and overseas investments in addition to property development.

All this sounds like lawmakers are seeking to shrink MTR Corp’s coffers. But MTR Corp is a publicly listed company, and we should remind ourselves that aside from being responsible to us commuters, it is accountable to its investors and non-government shareholders.

The company’s profits decreased 20.8 per cent year on year, even accounting for increases from station revenue. Although society is gradually returning to normal after the pandemic, revenue from station operations and retail cannot be expected to increase significantly. Rather, as railway extension work – on the East Rail and Tuen Ma lines, for example – ramps up, costs may rise.

Lawmakers asking so much of a business seem to be stretching MTR Corp’s social mandate a bit too far. Since the government is the company’s majority shareholder, the government will pocket most of the profits anyway.

Regarding the recent incidents on railway lines, it is clear that the MTR needs to step up maintenance. However, if trackside checks are to be boosted while quality is maintained, additional labour and machinery must be acquired. These acquisitions take a long time – for example, the Q-trains being rolled out on the Island and Tsuen Wan lines were ordered nearly a decade prior.

Some advocate an increase in the frequency of checks for metal fatigue to once a week from every two weeks, which does not seem possible to achieve in the short term. Given the route length of about 250km, MTR maintenance crews would need to check about 36km of tracks every night, double the current length, a formidable distance to complete over five precious hours overnight.