MTR Corporation announced the completion of its Automatic Platform Gates (APGs) installation project on the East Rail Line, finishing approximately six months ahead of schedule. The milestone was marked by the activation of the final gate pair at Mong Kok East Station in late May.
The project, completed without disrupting daily services, involved installing approximately 1,600 APG pairs across 35 platforms at 13 East Rail Line stations - a particularly challenging endeavor given the line's century-old infrastructure.
Each platform required about 20 tons of new gate equipment, with MTR crews conducted extensive preparatory work during and after the construction of the East Rail Line Cross-Harbour Extension to accommodate the upgrades.
With this completion, all MTR heavy rail stations now feature either platform screen doors or automatic gates.
The final phase proved especially complex at University, Lo Wu, and Mong Kok East stations, where engineers had to adapt straight gates to significantly curved platforms, according to the railway operator.
This required custom fabrication of over 20 different glass panel widths to precisely follow each platform's unique curvature, it said.
"Installing APGs on the century-old East Rail Line is very complex from the engineering perspective," said Carl Devlin, MTR's Capital Works Director.
"Maintaining normal train services during installation further escalated the challenges. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders, including relevant government departments, local communities, and passengers for their support and understanding, which made this project a success.”
The project represents a major safety enhancement for one of Hong Kong's busiest rail corridors, bringing the entire heavy rail network up to modern platform safety standards.
(Natasha Ng and Nathan Lim)
