PR015/21 6 March 2021 “Tuen Ma Line – Renews the City’s Vitality” Programme Officially Kicks Off To Explore Old and New Elements of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts The “Tuen Ma Line – Renews the City’s Vitality” Programme jointly organized by MTR Corporation and the cultural enterprise, Walk In Hong Kong (WIHK) officially launched today (6 March 2021). The programme is part of the preparation for the opening of the full Tuen Ma Line (“TML”) planned in the third quarter of this year. With the theme of “A new way to start your journey”, the programme aims to encourage and guide the public to explore old and new elements of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts, as well as rediscovering the vitality within the community through the new railway service to be extended to To Kwa Wan and Sung Wong Toi. At the kick-off ceremony held today, cultural ambassadors of the programme presented the learning through different workshops. Fifty-two cultural ambassadors were recruited for the programme in December of last year. Training has been arranged to deepen their knowledge of the areas surrounding the stations, and to inspire them to share the stories of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts to the public in an interactive and interesting manner through storytelling and acting workshops. “The full TML will be put into service later this year, extending the TML to To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts. The new railway line will not only provide more comprehensive transport connectivity around the city, especially for people living and working along the alignment, but also inject new vitality and provide development opportunities in the communities to be covered by the line. To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts carrying rich historical heritage and diverse in cultures. We hope to introduce Hong Kong people the characteristics ofthese districts and, at the same time, deepen the understanding of local residents about the future of their own community though this programme,” said Ms Linda Choy, Corporate Affairs Director of MTR Corporation at the kick-off ceremony. The cultural ambassadors and experienced tour guides will lead a series of tours for the public to travel around To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts. The tours will share precious historical stories, interesting neighborhood memories, the art and culture of the districts, and short stories of the projects team during construction of the TML. The tour will also use street performances and vivid presentations to deepen the public’s understanding of the community as well as the new train service. “This is an opportune time to hold these tours when Hong Kong people are keen to explore the city during the epidemic. The situation calls for flexibility and adaptability in planning and preparing for the need to roll out the tours in real time online with the employment of technology. I would like to express my gratitude to the cultural ambassadors and the MTR team for their hard work and enthusiasm in making the launch of the programme a smooth one.” said Mr Paul Chan, Co-founder and CEO of WIHK. -more- Four ambassadors shared their stories of Kowloon City and reasons for their participation in the programme at the ceremony. One of the ambassadors, Ms Claudia Kong, said: “I am pleased to be selected as a cultural ambassador, which offers me the opportunity to tell the stories of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City districts to the public. I have benefited a lot through attending the workshops. When I was a child, I often alighted from a stop nearby Sung Wong Toi when visiting my grandmother living in Kowloon City. It is amazing to see there will soon be a Sung Wong Toi Station, which will enable me to enjoy a fast and convenient railway service with my grandmother. “ The full TML will extend the existing TML Phase 1 from Kai Tak Station to Hung Hom Station, via Sung Wong Toi Station, To Kwa Wan Station and Ho Man Tin Station, to connect with the existing West Rail Line. With 27 stations spanning approximately 56 kilometres, the full TML will be the longest railway line in Hong Kong. It will connect the east and the west of the New Territories and Kowloon, bringing a more comprehensive railway network with higher accessibility to passengers. Enrollment for the tours is planned to begin in late March, some quota will be given to residents of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City Districts. Members of the public who are interested in joining the cultural tours of the “Tuen Ma Line – Renews the City’s Vitality” Programme can stay tune with the upcoming announcement on TML website https://mtr- tuenmaline.hk/en/community/community or WIHK website https://walkin.hk/. - End - 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.mtr.com.hk. *includes our subsidiaries and associates in Hong Kong and worldwide Photo caption: 1. Miss Alice Choi Man Kwan, JP, District Officer (Kowloon City) (fourth right); Ms Linda Choy, Corporate Affairs Director of MTR Corporation (third right); Mr Paul Chan Co-founder and CEO for WIHK (fourth left); Mr Lam Chan, Deputy General Manager – Projects & Property of MTR Corporation (third left); and four ambassadors launch the “Tuen Ma Line – Renews the city’s vitality” Programme together. 2. Ms Linda Choy, Corporate Affairs Director of MTR Corporation addresses the kick-off ceremony. 3. Four ambassadors shared their stories of To Kwa Wan and Kowloon City districts, and their enthusiasm of participating in the programme at the kick-off ceremony..