The Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau announced today the setting up of a co-ordination office to carry out planning and implementation work for the upcoming National Games, National Games for Persons with Disabilities and National Special Olympic Games. The National Games Coordination Office, led by three senior directorate officers, will work closely with the governments of Guangdong and the Macao Special Administration Region to co-organise the 15th National Games. The State Council announced in August 2021 that the 15th National Games are to be co-hosted in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau in 2025, the first time Hong Kong will have co-hosted the National Games. The three locations will also co-host the 12th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 9th National Special Olympic Games after the 15th National Games are held. The Hong Kong SAR Organising Committee of the 15th National Games was formed in May, with the Chief Executive a
Secretary for Transport & Housing Frank Chan today said MTR fare anomalies arising from the existing railway network will be resolved in phases according to the annual fare adjustment mechanism.
In response to a lawmaker's questions at the Legislative Council today, Mr Chan explained that the full commissioning of the Tuen Ma Line connects a number of existing railway lines, including the original West Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line, as well as the East Rail Line.
The fares of these lines were already determined with reference to their own fare structures before the rail merger. In particular, the fare structure of the East Rail Line, which started operations as early as in 1910, is influenced by historical factors and involves the co-existence of domestic and cross-boundary services, making it difficult to be directly compared with other railway lines.
Therefore, in the MTR heavy rail system, the fares of stations which run through the East Rail Line and the original West Rail Line and Ma On Shan Line will be influenced by fares of these lines.
The fares of new railway lines, like the Tuen Ma Line, will in turn be bounded by the fare structure of the existing railway network, resulting in fare anomalies for some trips.
Mr Chan said the MTR Corporation (MTRC) has been carefully handling the situation by adjusting the fare according to the annual fare adjustment mechanism. Given the railway network’s improved connectivity and increasing complexity, fare adjustments involving specific Tuen Ma Line routes or stations must be done prudently as it may affect other railway lines and cause further anomalies.
Subject to the annual fare adjustment rate based on the mechanism, it is expected that the MTRC would take several years to resolve the anomalies, he added.
Currently, the MTRC offers concessionary tickets and fare discounts to reduce the impact of fare anomalies. In collaboration with green minibuses and franchised buses, special interchange discounts and new interchange routes have also been introduced, Mr Chan noted.
http://dlvr.it/S48s26
http://dlvr.it/S48s26