MTR Tseung Kwan O line launched smoothly in general

Traffic condition in the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) new town and the TKO Tunnel was observed to be smooth in general. Public transport services were generally adequate to meet the needs.

The Transport Department (TD) today (August 18) activated the Emergency Transport Coordination Centre (ETCC) to monitor traffic and public transport services upon the full opening of the MTR TKO Line.

A TD spokesman said: "At TD Headquarters, while monitoring traffic condition in the four new MTR stations, officers maintained close liaison with bus companies, green minibus (GMB) operators and the MTR Corporation (MTRC) for first hand information on service adequacy and passenger flow."

"The Department also deployed officers at strategic locations to observe if there were smooth traffic and pedestrian flow. The observers made regular reports to ETCC so that the center could keep abreast of the latest situation," he added.

The spokesman said TD noted that due to heavy crowd at the Po Lam Station, the MTRC had taken special crowd control arrangements at the station. The police had also deployed additional manpower to assist in crowd control. The crowd situation had been alleviated upon introduction of the crowd control measures.

TD would continue to activate ETCC tomorrow (August 19) to closely monitor the traffic and public transport services on the first working day after the full opening of the MTR TKO Line.

TD reminds the public that it may take a while for them to get familiar with the public transport network and the new traveling pattern, thus they should well plan their journeys to avoid last minute rush.

End/Sunday, August 18, 2002