MTR signs concession arrangements for Tuen Ma Line

MTR Corporation (MTR) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) have signed four principal agreements for the operation of the Tuen Ma Line (TML).

The concession arrangements will continue for two years from the line’s commencement of operations on 27 June.

The four agreements include the Amendment Agreement to the Existing Integrated Operating Agreement (AOA), and Supplemental Agreement to the Existing Integrated Operating Agreement (SOA).

MTR and the government have signed Amendment No. 1 to Memorandum on Performance Requirements (Memorandum Amendment) while the company and KCRC have signed the Supplemental Service Concession Agreement (SSCA).

Under the AOA, SOA and Memorandum Amendment, TML’s regulation is similar to the current Hong Kong railway network.

According to the SSCA, the arrangements are along the lines of those sections of the current Hong Kong railway network over which MTR has received a concession from KCRC.

This approval has been granted under the service concession model.

In a statement, MTR said: “The SSCA, entered by the corporation and KCRC, supplements the Existing Service Concession Agreement, which regulates the operations of that part of the existing railway network over which KCRC has granted a concession to the corporation so that the TML will be subject to similar concession arrangements for a period of two years from the date of commissioning and commercial operation.”

As agreed, the company is required to ensure that the operations on the line meet the high service standards set by the government.

MTR CEO Dr Jacob Kam said: “Running approximately 56km and serving 27 stations, the opening of the TML marks a new page in Hong Kong’s railway history.

“The corporation will continue to serve Hong Kong with a safe, reliable and efficient railway service.”

Earlier this year, MTR Corporation announced that the real-time track performance monitoring system would be extended across the network to further boost track monitoring, maintenance and reliability.