bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Letters

The spokesman for passenger concern group Public Transport Research Team must be living on another planet. He claims that if the MTR ends the practice of closing services early in a “de facto curfew”, the attacks on its stations will stop (“50 MTR entrances to be fortified against vandalism”, November 4).
The MTR was attacked when it maintained services at normal hours.
It was attacked when it cut short services.
The shorter-hours policy was put into place so that the rail operator could have more time to repair damage caused to the stations. If the policy has a side-effect of convincing people to go home earlier, then so be it.
Does the spokesman honestly believe that the attacks will stop if the MTR stops cooperating with the government?
The MTR, as a government-controlled company, is an obvious target for mindless rioters. These imbeciles will not stop attacking the MTR because they now take obvious delight in smashing up ticket machines, turnstiles and customer service booths.




They smash them up because they want to look tough. As long as their so-called five demands are not met, they will continue to attack high-profile targets such as police stations, government buildings, traffic lights, mainland-owned businesses, and so on. The MTR is an easy target, its facilities are everywhere, and media coverage is guaranteed, so why not trash it?
Protesters’ demands that the MTR stop cooperating with the police are akin to demanding that the London Underground, which is a publicly-owned body, not cooperate with the British Transport Police, the dedicated unit for policing transport systems in the UK.
Which situation would the spokesman prefer: widespread inconvenience due to a crippled subway system because of severe damage to stations, or a subway system that can still manage as close to normal service as possible, albeit for slightly shorter hours?
I know which one I prefer.
Danny Chung, Tai Po


Hong Kong can sustain its HK$2 transport scheme with 1 tweak

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp to be fined at least HK$1 million for 7-hour disruption

Major MTR disruption triggers calls for penalty system review in Hong Kong

Train fault causes 7-hour service disruption on Hong Kong’s East Rail line

MTR Corporation

Why Hong Kong MTR may remain a target of protester fury even if ‘curfew hours’ are lifted

Garbage and debris lie at a blockaded entrance to Sheung Wan MTR station on November 2. Photo: Bloomberg

Are the MTR’s early closures necessary for repairs or a ‘de facto curfew’? Either way, Hong Kong commuters are in for more delays

The past two weeks of reduced MTR services have left Hong Kong’s commuters scrambling for alternative means of transport. Photo: Nora Tam

Shops in Admiralty remain closed as anti-government protesters take on the streets from Causeway Bay to Central. 06OCT19 SCMP / May Tse

Facilities at Kwun Tong MTR Station are damaged and vandalized from anti-government protesters following their rampage during a protest. 08OCT19 SCMP / Edmond So

Michael Tien Puk-sun, a NPC delegate of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Legco lawmaker, is seen during an interview about his proposal to NPC on campus sexual harassment in mainland Chinese academic institutions during the 2nd Session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing. 07MAR19 SCMP/Simon Song

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp ditches district council election posters to avoid ‘political conflicts’

Anti-government protesters set fire to an entrance of Mong Kok station on October 5. Photo: Edmond So

2018 Legislative Council By-election counting station at the Jokcey Club Government Secondary School in Kowloon Tong. 11MAR18 SCMP / Felix Wong

Opinion


The rail operator’s status as a government-controlled company is what renders it vulnerable to attacks, which happened even before service hours were shortened to limit damage and facilitate repairs



The rail operator’s status as a government-controlled company is what makes it vulnerable to attacks, which happened even before service hours were shortened to limit damage and facilitate repairs.


Transport and logistics

Hong Kong protests

London Underground

Hong Kong Basic Law

Letters | Why Hong Kong MTR may remain a target of protester fury even if ‘curfew hours’ are lifted

The rail operator’s status as a government-controlled company is what renders it vulnerable to attacks, which happened even before service hours were shortened to limit damage and facilitate repairs