MTR's 'Thank You Day' makes a comeback

MTR passengers will only have to pay half fare on the railway operator's "Thank You Day" on Saturday, including cross-boundary trips to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations.

MTR Corp said yesterday that passengers traveling on their heavy and light rail systems, as well as their buses running in Northwest New Territories, can enjoy the special offer by using their Octopus card.

Only those taking the heavy rail system can also opt to pay with their QR code.

"The half fare also applies to cross-boundary trips running to and from Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations on the East Rail Line," MTR said.

The operator said it will run more frequent trains on that day, with a total of 370 train trips added across its seven MTR lines - Island, South Island, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Tuen Ma, East Rail and Tung Chung.

More coupled-set or double-carriage Light Rail vehicles will be used to increase capacity.

Saturday's special will mark the fifth "Thank You Day" this year to thank passengers for their support.

The "half-fare day" was introduced when the MTR revised its service performance rebate policy to make up for the train service disruptions.

The scheme replaces an older rebate scheme where passengers could claim back three percent per journey.

According to the established mechanism, the railway operator has to arrange one "half-fare day" when it accumulates HK$25 million in fines for disrupted services.

Meanwhile, the MTR said it will enhance their services on Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Ma and South Island lines on Sundays and public holidays starting August 20.

For Tseung Kwan O Line, train frequency between Tiu Keung Leng and LOHAS Park stations will be increased from about every 12 minutes to about every 10 minutes.

Waiting time for trains between North Point and Po Lam will also be shortened by one minute, with the frequency increased from every six minutes to every five minutes.

Trains will become more frequent on the Tuen Ma Line during the afternoons and evenings on Sundays and public holidays.

Passengers' waiting time will only be six minutes on average, a minute less than the usual seven minutes for trains between 1pm and 4.30pm and between 6.30pm and 9.30pm.

Trains on the South Island Line will come every six minutes instead of 7.5 minutes between 4pm and 5pm, and every 4.5 minutes instead of five between 5pm and 7pm on Sundays and public holidays.

"The corporation has been closely monitoring the operation of each rail line, passengers' traveling patterns and patronage for timely adjustments to train service," MTR said.

"We will continue to adjust train service based on actual demand and train operations."