East Rail Tweaks Will Cut Congestion: Michael Tien

Lawmaker and former KCR chairman Michael Tien said on Monday that the MTR's plan to run shorter trains but at increased intervals on the East Rail Line will help alleviate congestion in stations.

The railway operator says that from the middle of next year, it will gradually begin to switch from 12-car trains on the line to trains with just nine cars.

But it says trains will arrive every two minutes during peak periods, compared to three at present.

The change will come as the new "East West Corridor" opens, linking the West Rail Line with the Ma On Shan Line. Officials say they believe about 20 percent of regular passengers on the East Rail Line will switch to the new link.

Tien said the more frequent trains should not pose any problems, as long as passengers leave the platforms quickly enough.

"In a typical station, you don't have an infinite number of escalators. You only have a few fixed locations for escalators and for a fully loaded train to disperse onto the platform and then go up to the next level, the concourse, it's going to take 'X' number of time," the Roundtable legislator said.

"If that traffic dispersion has not happened and the next train comes along, it's no use. So when they reduce it from 12 to 9 [carriages], they actually [need to] increase the speed of dispersion."

MTR officials are also planning to introduce platform screens at East Rail Line stations.