PR008/21 9 February 2021

Fighting Against the Pandemic and Supporting Healthcare Workers MTR Provides Airport Express Tickets to Personnel on Duty at AsiaWorld-Expo

The MTR Corporation is committed to maintaining safe and stable service amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and has implemented various initiatives to ride out the trying times with the community. As a gesture of support and gratitude to healthcare workers who are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic, the Corporation has been providing free Airport Express tickets to on-duty healthcare workers since March last year for their travel between the Community Treatment Facility near AsiaWorld-Expo Station and the urban area.

After setting up the Temporary Testing Centre at AsiaWorld-Expo to combat the second wave of the pandemic, the Hospital Authority established the Community Treatment Facility in view of the third and fourth wave. Since March 2020, MTR has been providing free Airport Express tickets through the Hospital Authority to healthcare workers who need to travel between AsiaWorld-Expo Station and the urban area. Over 16,900 tickets have been provided as of the end of January 2021.

“We would like to thank our healthcare workers for their selfless dedication to serving the community with professionalism. MTR Corporation is delighted to be able to show appreciation and respect to healthcare personnel. We will continue with our efforts in fighting against the pandemic with the community and together we hope to get through this soon,” said Dr Jacob Kam, Chief Executive Officer of MTR Corporation.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Corporation has been providing relief measures in fares with a six-month 20% fare rebate launched in July 2020 which was subsequently extended to the end of March 2021. The Corporation has also rolled out rent relief measures to support tenants at MTR malls and stations.

In addition, resources have been put in to further enhance the cleaning and disinfection of stations and trains in the Corporation’s ongoing endeavours to safeguard the health of passengers. The Corporation has introduced the “Vapourised Hydrogen Peroxide Robot” for deep cleaning, applied a non-toxic disinfectant, nano silver-titanium dioxide coating, to station and train facilities and, with new technology, added lift button sensors at MTR stations in the strive to reduce the spread of the virus. MTR heavy rail stations and trains as well as the West Station and trains of High Speed Rail (Hong Kong Section) were recently accredited by the Anti-Epidemic Hygiene Measures Certification Scheme of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, and MTR is one of the first public transport operators locally to receive the accreditation.

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In addition, the Corporation has been distributing COVID-19 specimen collection packs at 20 MTR stations. Two vending machines distributing the packs have recently been installed at each of these stations, providing further convenience to members of the public collecting the specimen collection packs. UV light air purifiers have also been installed at locations near the vending machines to provide extra protection to passengers.

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About MTR Corporation

Every day, MTR connects people and communities. As a recognised world-class operator of sustainable rail transport services, we are a leader in safety, reliability, customer service and efficiency.

MTR has extensive end-to-end railway expertise with more than 40 years of railway projects experience from design to planning and construction through to commissioning, maintenance and operations. Going beyond railway delivery and operation, MTR also creates and manages dynamic communities around its network through seamless integration of rail, commercial and property development.

With more than 40,000 dedicated staff*, MTR carries over 13 million passenger journeys worldwide every weekday in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and the Mainland of China. MTR strives to grow and connect communities for a better future.

For more information about MTR Corporation, please visit www..com.hk.

*includes our subsidiaries and associates in Hong Kong and worldwide

Photo captions:

1. MTR Corporation presented 250 boxes of cookies to healthcare workers who are on duty at the Community Treatment Facility at AsiaWorld-Expo today (9 February 2021) to thank them for standing at the forefront to combat the pandemic and serving the community. Ms Elizabeth Yeung, Station Services Manager – Airport Express, Line and of MTR Corporation (left) and Ms Vivian Chan, Manager (Nursing) of Hospital Authority (right) joined the presentation ceremony.

2. Two vending machines distributing COVID-19 specimen collection packs are currently available at each of 20 MTR stations for the convenience of the public collecting the packs. UV light air purifiers have been installed in the relevant locations to provide extra protection to passengers.