MTR connects people sustainably towards a connected future

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner and convenient rail transportation provides a pleasant journey to people whether they are heading home for the holidays or going out and about to enjoy the festivities. During this New Year holiday, MTR Corporation, as the leading railway operator in Hong Kong special administrative region, is going the extra mile to extend train services on its East Rail Line to and from Lo Wu Station on two nights to support the extended operating hours of the Lo Wu control point, facilitating thousands of cross-boundary passengers returning home. MTR will also be providing overnight train services on most of its heavy rail lines on New Year's Eve to enable passengers to make the most of the festive celebrations.

2023 marked a year of recovery as Hong Kong resumed normal business and social exchanges with Chinese mainland from the beginning of the year. MTR largely restored the frequency of its local train services in Hong Kong, particularly the cross-boundary services, including the popular East Rail Line - a route connecting the city's downtown with two busy land crossings into the Chinese mainland.

Over the past year, high-speed rail has become the new popular mode of transport to and from the Chinese Mainland with the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail (Hong Kong section) witnessing a record-breaking total patronage exceeding 20 million. As the operator, MTR continues to enhance the services by adding new destinations and additional train services, adopting electronic tickets as well as introducing flexible ticketing arrangements and multi-ride tickets for designated stations. These efforts aim to provide more convenient and seamless cross- boundary services for travelers commuting between the two regions.

MTR's high-speed rail services resumed for cross-boundary passengers on 15 January 2023.

MTR's involvement in railway development and services extends beyond Hong Kong to Chinese mainland and Macao special administrative region. Most recently, at the end of last year, its associate Beijing MTR opened the remaining section of Beijing Metro Line 16 and the Northern Section of Line 17, enhancing the coverage and connectivity of Beijing’s metro network.

Beijing MTR's high quality railway services now account for 23 percent of the overall operational route length of Beijing's metro network, serving millions of passengers daily. It was praised as "a standard of service quality and economic efficiency" by the Mayor of Beijing Yin Yong during the 26th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium in November 2023.

MTR Corporation currently operates railways in Beijing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Macao, covering a total route distance exceeding 340 kilometers. It provides safe, reliable, and efficient journeys to four million passengers every day on these lines. In addition, MTR Corporation also operates thousands of kilometers of railways in Europe and Australia under operation contracts.

Railway is a long-term investment. MTR Corporation promotes the concept of sustainable development through its participation in railway projects in Chinese mainland cities, and has gained positive recognition from stakeholders. Leveraging on its "Rail plus Community" development model from Hong Kong, MTR is collaborating with local governments in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and the Greater Bay Area and participating in Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects.

In November of last year, MTR Corporation and Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaborations for the Beijing Tongzhou Sub-centre TOD project, with the aim of adding value to the high-quality development of the city.

A Beijing delegation led by Yin Yong, the Mayor of Beijing, visited MTR Kowloon Station and the West Kowloon Station TOD project in November 2023.

This year, we will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Greater Bay Area is a key development region which has a clear focus for MTR's corporate strategy.

In addition to operating the Macao Light Rapid Transit and Shenzhen Metro Line 4, which connects to Futian Port, the corporation will also operate the new Shenzhen Metro Line 13 connecting to the Shenzhen Bay checkpoint. This new line is expected to be operational in the near future, heralding a new era of collaboration for MTR in building the integrated rail network in the Greater Bay Area and propelling it towards its vision of becoming a world-class bay area.

As the operator of a reliable, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation system, MTR is also playing its part in moving Hong Kong towards becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2050.

MTR's GHG emissions reduction targets by 2030 have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

The corporation announced earlier that seven new stations already under construction or set to begin construction this year have achieved “BEAM Plus” Provisional Gold or above accreditation. When these new stations are put into service in future, it is expected that each new station can achieve an average reduction of approximately 20 percent in carbon emissions per year when compared with traditional stations. Notably, MTR's Hin Keng Station in Hong Kong, which was opened in 2020, is the first railway station in the world to receive an "Excellent" rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) In-Use certification.

MTR Corporation is committed to embedding environmental, social and governance considerations and sustainable development concepts into its businesses and operations to create long-term benefit for all stakeholders.

2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the opening of the first MTR line - the Kwun Tong Line. Over the past 45 years, MTR Corporation has been dedicated to playing an important part in building Hong Kong through a public transportation system with the railway as the backbone. From its starting base in Hong Kong, the corporation has expanded into nine metropolitan cities worldwide, constructing, operating and managing urban and intercity rail transit projects with a total route length of over 3,500 km.

Through its comprehensive network and integrated communities, the corporation enables cities and their people to move forward and make progress. MTR Corporation will continue to connect and grow communities with caring service, and keep cities moving sustainably.