MTR Corp adjusts railway timetable amid Covid-19 pandemic

Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation has announced that it will change the train services on certain railway lines due to decreased ridership amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Due to the pandemic, local and outbound travel have reduced drastically.

MTR has stated that from 10 April, it will change the services on Airport Express (AEL), Tung Chung Line (TCL), Tuen Ma Line (TML) Phase 1 and Disneyland Resort Line (DRL) among others.

However, the existing services on the Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Island Line, South Island Line, Tseung Kwan O Line, East Rail Line and West Rail Line will not change.

MTR has discussed with the relevant airlines and announced that the In-Town Check-In service at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations will not be available.

Additionally, the Airport Express Shuttle Buses operating between Hong Kong Station/Kowloon Station, hotels and railway interchanges will be suspended.

During the weekday peak hours, the AEL train service will be changed to a frequency of 15min while during non-peak service it will be 30min.

Additionally, on the TCL and TML Phase 1, rail services will operate at intervals of 10min during weekday non-peak services and Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays services.

The DRL service will also be suspended from 10 April. MTR will deploy shuttle buses to operate between Sunny Bay and Disneyland Resort stations.

MTR stated: “As of late March 2020, a year-on-year drop of patronage by an average of over 40% has been recorded on MTR railway lines while a drop of more than 80% on AEL and DRL respectively.

“The carrying capacity after the service-frequency adjustment will still meet current passenger demand without affecting travel comfort. At the same time, it will reduce unnecessary energy consumption. The corporation will continue to closely monitor the latest situation.”

Last month, MTR Corporation deployed an automated Vapourised Hydrogen Peroxide Robot (VHP Robot) to carry out deep cleaning and decontamination in train compartments and stations.