MTR bosses say they're going to boost spending on maintenance following a series of incidents last year, but operating hours may be reduced to give workers more time to carry out repairs.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the corporation said it will increase spending on maintenance by 20 percent to meet the recommendations of an expert panel it appointed following last year's mishaps, including one where the doors of a train were ripped off.

HK$65 billion will be used over five years to upgrade and replace railway assets, conduct daily maintenance and build a "smart railway", the company said.

Tony Lee, the corporation's operations director, said they will consider shortening the service hours of the MTR – a later start and/or earlier end to services – since they only have a two-hour window for maintenance each day.

He added, however, that no cuts to services will happen anytime soon.

DAB lawmaker Ben Chan said shortening service hours is a sensitive matter, and the railway giant should announce maintenance work in advance in future.

"If there is really a need to strive for greater safety, that kind of shortening the service time, I think, we can all understand," he said.

"If they really need to do so, they need to announce in advance and provide enough other choices to passengers."

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung, for his part, stressed the need for the rail firm to strike a balance between carrying out maintenance work and maintaining its operations.

The MTR's transport services director Jeny Yeung, meanwhile, said the increased maintenance spending will not lead to higher fares.

"[As to] how we are going to address the need of the funds, basically they will come from the daily income from our operations including fare and non-fare [incomes] as well as from our property," she said.

"The increase will not be transferred to the passengers because our fare is governed by the fare adjustment mechanism, which is based on very transparent and objective economic factors like inflation and wage index."

The MTR Corporation also said it will explore how big data and comprehensive analytical tools can help them better anticipate risks.

Roundtable lawmaker and former KCRC chairman Michael Tien said while research is necessary to develop new systems and maintenance techniques, it's also important to explore other potential solutions.

"My viewpoint is that if there's any automated system or technology that other jurisdictions are using in the maintenance area, we should not be left out," he said.

The railway firm said it has hired 870 frontline staff this year to ease a manpower crunch.

But lawmaker and former MTR engineer Gary Zhang said the MTR still needs to do more to attract talent.

"The (job) requirement is very high and the working environment is not very favourable... the salary package is the key issue here," he said. "So I'm a little disappointed that the report did not address or mention this issue."
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Last updated: 2023-06-21 HKT 19:21