In the article, “Dubbed 'the best in class': 6 things about Hong Kong's MTR rail system.”, Lee (2015) has stated that Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, thought highly of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and suggested that local transportation sectors should use MTRC as a guideline for its “reliability standards”. Based on MTR’s and SMRT’s annual reports, comparing Hong Kong to Singapore, New York and London, Hong Kong’s subway system yields the highest “system’s farebox recovery ratio”. Looking at both the MTR and SMRT’s railway systems, the length of MTR’s railway surpasses SMRT’s by 59km. The punctuality of SMRT trains is 3.9% lesser than MTR even though both countries face the same amount of significant hold ups. Looking at the expenditure of profits on enhancing train systems, MTR invested a larger amount of their earnings compared to SMRT. MTR also ensures that their passengers enjoy a safe and smooth ride by having much higher inspection frequency compared to SMRT and being meticulous in examining the railway lines. MTRC aims to rectify any issues or faults that arises under two minutes with the introduction of the “Super Operations Control Centre” which oversees the entire railway system, resolving emergencies with their fast reaction. The article states that Hong Kong’s MTR system is the best in the industry by providing train services in a more reliable and efficient manner as compared to other countries. I agree with the claim of the article that Hong Kong’s MTR is better. However, I disagree with the reason used for the claim. The article could have used points such as the efficiency of carrying passenger, punctuality rate and effectiveness in investment made as evidence to support what it states.
Firstly, despite having lesser track area than other major metropolitan subway systems, the MTR system transports more than five million passengers daily. London has 402 kilometres of line, New York City has 373 kilometres, while Hong Kong MTR tracks only stretches 218 kilometres. With a shorter length of railway tracks, Hong Kong’s MTR system still carries more commuters around the country when compared to London and New York subway systems. The number of commuters a transport system can carry, closely relates to the competency of the system. This shows how efficient is Hong Kong’s MTR system in passenger transportation when placed side by side with renowned subway systems from other countries.
Secondly, running about 20 hours and 8,000 train trips per day, MTR boasts a staggering 99.9% punctuality rate, according to the corporation. In 2016, the overall punctuality rate of the MTR was 99.9 percent. In comparison, the train punctuality rate of the New York subway was only 63 percent, while that of the London underground was 85.2 percent. Hong Kong's MTR standard is miles ahead of its competitors, being near perfect in terms of punctuality rate. This tells us that the Hong Kong’s MTR frequency of being on time at each station is a cut above the rest as compared to other countries. These are concrete evidence to back up why Hong Kong’s MTR system is one of the best in the business when it comes to the punctuality rate of the railway system.
Lastly, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has invested S$12.5 million to develop manpower for the industry. The MTRC also spent S$1.09 billion last year on maintenance and system upgrades. Singapore is seen investing a significantly large amount of money as compared to Hong Kong in regards to the railway system. Singapore’s consumers were more satisfied with the land transport sector, which had a score of 66.8 out of 100.While Hong Kong’s MTR customer satisfaction reached a record high score of 73.5% in 2015. Having to compare the ratio for the amount of money used to the satisfaction, Hong Kong's MTR system is much more productive. This proves that Hong Kong's railway system actually uses a lesser amount of money to have a higher statistics of satisfaction for the commuters. Demonstrating how effective and smart is Hong Kong’s MTR on investing.
In conclusion, Hong Kong’s MTR system is certainly one of the best in its field when we look at how efficient and managed overall. Railway system around the world should see Hong Kong’s MTR as a role model.
References
Maggie Hiufu Wong (2015, March 31). Hong Kong's MTR: Taking a ride on the world's most envied metro system. Cable News Network, Retrieved September 27, 2017, from http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/hong-kong-mtr-success-story/index.html
Alan Lee (2017, August 31). Time to ease up on the MTR over its service record. Cable News Network, Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.ejinsight.com/20170831-time-to-ease-up-on-the-mtr-over-its-service-record/
Lincoln Leong Kwok-Kuen (2016, May 12). 5 billions MTR sustainability report 2015. Mass Transit Railway, Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.mtr.com.hk/en/corporate/sustainability/2015rpt/pdf/mtrfull2015.pdf
Li Xueying (2015, October 25). HK rail's 'always improving' ethos. The Straits Times, Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/hk-rails-always-improving-ethos
Rahimah Rashith (2016, September 16). Satisfaction level up for MRT service: Survey. The Straits Times, Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/satisfaction-level-up-for-mrt-service-survey
Lim, K. (2015, December 20). Singapore's train system: What needs to be done to ensure a smoother ride? Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-train-system-what-needs-to-be-done-to-ensure-a-smoot-8246388
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