The MTR Corporation on Saturday confirmed it had laid on a special train solely to carry police officers along a stretch of line it had closed to the public.

Several stations on the Kwun Tong Line were shut at midday, around an hour and a half before the start of a protest march from Kwun Tong to Kowloon Bay that had received police approval.

A photo later began circulating on social media showing an MTR train apparently carrying only police officers.

The photo was believed to have been taken at Choi Hung Station, where services were terminating rather than carrying on to Tiu Keng Leng as normal.

The railway operator later confirmed that it had arranged a special service for the police.

The corporation said because of road conditions, officers were not able to get to Kowloon Bay, where a number of people had gathered in the early afternoon outside the area's MTR station to protest against the service suspension.

The corporation also said that it had called police to Kowloon Bay Station at around 5.45pm after somebody damaged a shutter and entered the closed building.

Many MTR passengers had been highly critical of the corporation's move to shut the stations for an unspecified period of time, saying it had caused them a great deal of inconvenience.

The railway operator said the decision was made following discussions with the police and transport officials.