MTR Corp. : MTR Enhances Service for Chinese New Year As CEO Says: Kung Hei Fat Choi

PR006/12
12 January 2012

MTR Enhances Service for Chinese New Year

As CEO Says: Kung Hei Fat Choi

For the convenience of passengers travelling around Hong Kong to welcome in the Year of the Dragon, all MTR lines (except Disneyland Resort Line) and certain Light Rail routes will be operating overnight on Lunar New Year's Eve (22/23 January 2012).
As the Saturdays prior to Chinese New Year (CNY) are usually very busy for shopping and pre-CNY gatherings, service on the Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong lines will be stepped up on
14 and 21 January at lunch and dinner time. In addition, on Friday 20 January 2012, the afternoon peak service will commence earlier at 3pm on the Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong,
Island and Tseung Kwan O lines.
MTR train service will also be strengthened for the traditional CNY fireworks display on the second night of the Lunar New Year (24 January 2012). As well, holiday-makers travelling overseas are reminded that Airport Express service will be departing every 10 minutes starting 15 January 2012, an enhancement from the current frequency of 12 minutes. Details of the Lunar New Year service enhancements are available in the attached Annex and on the MTR website www.mtr.com.hk.
CEO of MTR Corporation Mr Jay Walder and a group of MTR volunteers joined the community in preparing for the Chinese New Year by writing auspicious fai chuns with senior citizens at the T.W.G..H. Pong Wing Shiu Neighbourhood Elderly Centre near MTR Choi Hung Station.
"The elders of any community are the guardians of tradition and culture and I appreciate their sharing with me the rich traditions of the Chinese New Year," said Mr Walder. "I look forward to spending my first Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and celebrating it with the community. At this time, I would like to say Kung Hei Fat Choi and wish everyone a happy, healthy and fruitful Year of the Dragon."
- End -

Photo caption:

Writing his first auspicious Spring couplet or fai chun under the expert guidance of senior citizens at the T.W.G..H. Pong Wing Shiu Neighbourhood Elderly Centre, CEO of MTR Corporation Mr Jay Walder wishes the Hong Kong community a happy, healthy and fruitful Year of the Dragon.

Annex:

Service Enhancements during Chinese New Year

14 and 21 January 2012 (Saturday)

Line	1:00 - 2:00pm	5:00 - 6:00pm
Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line	3 minutes	3.3 minutes

20 January 2012 (Friday)

Island Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Tseung Kwan O Line
Afternoon peak service
starts early at 3:00 p.m. 2.5-3 minutes

22 January 2012 (Sunday) - Lunar New Year's Eve Overnight Service

Line	Service Frequency
Line	8:00pm- 1:00am	1:00am- 2:30am	2:30am- 3:30am	3:30am- 6:00am
Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Island Line,	4 minutes	5 minutes	8 minutes	10 minutes
Tseung Kwan O Line (North Point - Po Lam) (Tiu Keng Leng - LOHAS Park)	4 minutes	5 minutes	8 minutes	10 minutes
Tseung Kwan O Line (North Point - Po Lam) (Tiu Keng Leng - LOHAS Park)	12 minutes	12 minutes	12 minutes	15 minutes
	8:00pm-2:00am	2:00am-6:00am
Tung Chung Line	8 minutes	12 minutes
	12:00am-2:00am	2:00am-3:30am	3:30am-5:30am
Ma On Shan Line	6.5 minutes	10 minutes	15 minutes
	12:30am-1:30am	1:30am-3:00am	3:00am-5:30am
East Rail Line (Hung Hom - Sheung Shui), West Rail Line	7 minutes	10 minutes	15 minutes

Note: Disneyland Resort Line service will close as usual at 12:45am on Lunar New Year's

Eve.

Light Rail

Routes	Service Frequency
Routes	12:00am-2:30am	2:30am-5:30am
505, 507, 610, 614P, 615P, 705, 706, 751, 761P	6-16 minutes	13-22 minutes

MTR Bus
MTR Bus Routes 506, K51 and K73 feeding the West Rail Line will extend service to 2:00am on Lunar New Year's Eve. Buses will be running at a 10 to 15-minute interval.

24 January 2012 (Tuesday)

For the fireworks display over Victoria Harbour, train frequencies will be enhanced as follows:

Line	Service Frequency
Line	6:00pm-10:30pm
Tsuen Wan Line, Kwun Tong Line, Island Line	3 minutes
	8:00pm-10:30pm
Tseung Kwan O Line (North Point - Po Lam)	4 minutes
	4:00pm-10:30pm
Tung Chung Line (Hong Kong - Tsing Yi)	5 minutes
	8:30pm-10:30pm
West Rail Line	4 minutes

Airport Express

Airport Express service will be enhanced from 15 January 2012 to 10 minutes a train from the current 12-minute-interval. From 20 to 22 January, the first train will depart from Hong Kong Station at 5:00am (50 minutes earlier than normal service) and at 5:26am (34 minutes earlier than normal service) from AsiaWorld-Expo Station.

General Reminders

Passengers are recommended to use Octopus cards when travelling on the MTR during the holidays. Single Journey Ticket users are advised to purchase two tickets at their originating station, keeping one ticket for their return journey to avoid long queues.

To ensure smooth passenger flow in spite of the anticipated increase in passengers, special crowd control arrangements will be implemented at busy stations such as Wong Tai Sin, Tsim Sha Tsui, East Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordon, Prince Edward, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Admiralty, Central and Austin on Lunar New Year's Eve and the night of the fireworks display. Passengers are reminded to follow the advice of station staff and the Police. To ensure safe and efficient service, the MTR reminds passengers not to bring metallic balloons or inflammable materials into MTR Premises.