Transport Chaos As General Strike Starts To Bite

The general strike called on Monday by anti-government protesters had an immediate impact on morning commuters, with transport services disrupted across Hong Kong.

MTR services between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long on West Rail were suspended, while trains were disrupted on East Rail, Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong, Island, Tseung Kwan O and Tung Chung lines.

Protesters held up trains at various stations by preventing doors from closing.

At Lai King station, a man even lay down at the door of the train, and required medical staff there to remove him on a stretcher.

At Fortress Hill, a woman commuter appeared to go into labour as she stood waiting on the platform. A train there was also evacuated.

At Tai Po Market on the East Rail Line, there were scuffles. Dozens of people surrounded an elderly man and stopped him from leaving, after accusing him of hitting one of them.

The MTR has put on numerous bus services to try to clear passengers.

The Airport Express suspended service shortly after 9 am.

At the airport, more than 200 flights were cancelled.

Early on Monday, the Airport Authority warned that the planned strike might affect not only airlines but airport operations. It advised passengers to check with their airlines for the latest information, and only proceed to the airport when their seats and flight time have been confirmed.

Cathay Pacific, on its website, “strongly recommends” customers postpone non-essential travel. It said rebooking and rerouting charges would be waived, with immediate effect, for all tickets issued before Monday.

A number of roads also appeared to be blocked at least for short periods of time, including the Kowloon entrance to the Cross Harbour Tunnel.

Protesters have issued messages urging people to turn out to block Lion Rock Tunnel, while one lane of the Eastern Harbour Tunnel to Hong Kong Island was closed for a short period of time just before 9 am because of an unspecified emergency.

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