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SCMP

This article was first published on October 2, 1979
Confusion as tube rolls
Chaos and kinks marked the passenger opening of the Mass Transit Railway on Monday October 1, 1979.
About 230,000 people passed through the system, causing massive queues and at times, bedlam.
Most of the volume was concentrated on Shek Kip Mei and Kwun Tong stations, at opposite ends of the five-mile line.
Both were swamped by thousands of people, causing massive congestion and testing the system to its full extent.
In-between stations were quieter, but still busy enough to keep MTR staff going flat out with inquiries and requests for directions.
The massive passenger volume led to several breakdowns, disrupting the flow-through.
Several machines in the automatic ticket system, operating to their maximum extent for the first time, had failures.

Despite the chaos, MTR officials said the opening day had gone relatively well with all trains running smoothly and on time.
“People have to have time to get used to the system,” the MTR Corp public relations manager, Tony Turner, said.
“Part of today’s hold-ups were caused by people’s inexperience with the system, coupled with the breakdowns. They had to figure out how the ticketing system worked and how to follow the railway directions.
“We heard that some people went astray by misreading directions, or following passengers going the opposite way.
“Some actually went straight to the exit, asking where the trains were.
“Correct currency was another problem,” Turner said.
“The machines will only take new dollars. Some old dollars jammed the ticketing system today.
“However, people will get used to the system and the gremlins should be ironed out in a day or so.

“The MTR is also gaining experience through this massive turnover and is starting to see what problems exist and what can be done about them.
“I think that curiosity played a large part in today’s turnover and that things will quieten down,” Turner said.
“In any case, people were well behaved.”
The passenger opening of the MTR seemed to have a corresponding impact outside the station where minibus drivers complained that their volume of business had dropped by between 20 and 40 per cent.
“Business is bad even though I cut my fare by HK$1,” a minibus driver, Lam Kin-yuen said.
Lam said he may consider moving to some other business if conditions continue to deteriorate.

Early morning travellers on the MTR said the trip was fast and comfortable.
A civil engineer with Nishimatsui Construction Co (an MTR sub-contractor), Kevin Kersse, said: “The MTR is wonderfully designed. The ventilation and lighting systems are superb. The trains move swiftly and smoothly with very little jerking.
“The continuous rail with no cracks enables the trains to glide off with minimum impact to passengers.”
Kersse said the system will provide a comfortable service and take pressure off the existing public transport facilities.
“The MTR has more standing room than the English, French and the American underground systems,” he said.
“This of course will suit Hong Kong, which has a high population density.
“My only objection is that I would like to see straphangers inside the trains instead of the existing metal bars,” he added.

A retired labourer, Chiu Tang-shui, said he did not mind getting out of bed at 4am to take a first day ride.
“I think it was worth it,” he said.
Chiu was among 50 commuters who boarded the first train from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong.
A form four student, Chan Wah-keun, went for a ride “out of sheer curiosity”.
He said he could cut commuting time to his school in half, but the HK$2 fare from Kwun Tong to Shek Kip Mei was a bit steep.
“I only have to pay 50 cents for a bus ride from my home to school in So Uk,” he said.
Wong Pang-nun, a factory worker living in Kwun Tong who takes a minibus to his Cheung Sha Wan factory, said the MTR is cheaper.
“I used to pay HK$3 for a minibus. Now I can enjoy a comfortable ride for just HK$2. “What’s more, I can save one hour on my travelling time.”

Despite these favourable comments, there were several complaints.
One group of people took a wrong turn and finished up at an exit.
One man, after being told that he had arrived at an exit, shouted: “How come? I have not even seen a train.”
Some commuters said there were not enough staff to handle all the inquiries.
Others complained that the turnstiles were not operating and that they had to rejoin long queues to try again. This did not suit some, who jumped a turnstile.
Overwhelmed by the number of passengers, MTR staff at Shek Kip Mei station temporarily turned off the turnstiles during the morning rush.
The staff, helped by two policemen, collected the tickets themselves.
The rush was so severe that some money-changing machines ran out of cash.
The staff of a concourse bookshop said they were deluged by people trying to buy small items with a HK$10 note in the hope of getting some change.

Quite a number of passengers were puzzled by the ticketing insertion system and had to be helped by MTR staff.


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The Shek Kip Mei Station crowded with passengers. The MTR Corporation’s Kwun Tong line, from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong station, was opened on October 1, 1979. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

Commuters climb over and under the turnstiles on the opening of the first stretch of the Mass Transit Railway in Shek Kip Mei. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

Children getting into an MTR train at Kwun Tong station. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

Governor Murray MacLehose attending the inauguration ceremony of the Mass Transit Railway service at Kwun Tong station. Photo: P.Y Tang

An MTR staff member examines a turnstile during the opening of The MTR Corporation’s Kwun Tong line. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

An interior shot of an MTR train. The MTR Corporation’s Kwun Tong line, from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong station, was opened on October 1, 1979. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

MTR staff member examining a turnstile which swallowed a passenger’s ticket. Photo: Yau Tin-kwai

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South China Morning Post’s front page on September 27, 1984.

Geoffrey Howe, the British foreign secretary at the time, at Hong Kong’s Government House on August 1, 1984. Photo: Chan Kiu

Edward Youde waves just before boarding the private jet for Beijing to take part in the initialling of the draft agreement on the Sino-British Joint Declaration on September 26, 1984. Photo: GIS

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Running from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong station, the MTR map’s green-coloured railway line opened to the public 45 years ago


Running from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong station, the MTR map’s green-coloured railway line opened to the public 45 years ago.


MTR Corporation

On This Day | Hong Kong’s first MTR line opens to the public amid ‘chaos and kinks’ – from SCMP archive

Running from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong station, the MTR map’s green-coloured railway line opened to the public 45 years ago

Confusion as tube rolls