Pro-democracy protesters who had planned to target MTR lines for disruptions for a second day in a row apparently no longer felt the need to, after an accident involving a special maintenance train shut down service in parts of the New Territories for hours today.
Tony Lee, the chief of operations engineering for the MTR, said that an engineering train skipped the track during the maintenance work on the East Rail Line at about 3:50am today, with engineers still working to right it. As of press time, services were still suspended between Fo Tan station, near Sha Tin, and Tai Po Market station, and the MTR is providing free shuttle buses between the two areas.
The hang-up also caused delays on the others parts the line between its termini and the affected stations. According to RTHK, over a hundred people were queuing for shuttles in Sha Tin.
Pro-democracy protesters had targeted the MTR for disruptions in protest of what they deemed its inadequate response to a mob of white-shirted, pro-Beijing thugs viciously attacking protesters, journalists, and everyday commuters at Yuen Long MTR station on Sunday.
A handful of protesters at Admiralty station deliberately blocked the train doors yesterday morning and refused to move at the height of rush hour, causing delays all along the Island Line.
They had vowed to do the same today at Kowloon Tong station, but those plans appear to have fizzled.
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HK01 reported that protesters briefly held up a train at Prince Edward station this morning, but only for a few minutes.
A handful of protesters yesterday also showed up the MTR’s headquarters in Kowloon Bay, demanding complaint forms and trying to enter the building, at times briefly scuffling with security guards.
Meanwhile, the MTR’s self-inflicted delay in the New Territories inspired no small amount of schadenfreude among pro-democracy sympathizers online.
One netizen on the forum LIHKG joked that the MTR had “initiated an non-cooperation movement” against itself, while another cracked: “The first step to protesting against the MTR – join them as an engineer!”
