MTR Corporation announced today (17 December 2025) that special service arrangements will be implemented on the Tuen Ma Line on 1 February and 8 March 2026 (both Sundays), as temporary closure of certain sections of the track is required to facilitate follow-up works for the track modification between Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations on the Tuen Ma Line. During traffic hours on these two designated Sundays, full line train service on the Tuen Ma Line will be maintained and most passengers' journeys will remain unchanged. Only passengers whose journeys pass through Hung Hom Station will need to alight at the station and interchange at the opposite platform to continue their journeys. The Corporation will inform passengers of the arrangements through various channels and deploy additional staff to guide and assist passengers.
Works for Track Alignment and Cant Modification
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Mr David Chan and Mr Jonathan Lau announce Tuen Ma Line special service arrangements
Tuen Ma Line service arrangements on 1 and 8 March 2026
Passengers interchanging at Hung Hom Station on Tuen Ma Line
Project team conducting follow-up works on Tuen Ma Line during non-traffic hours
Since its full opening in 2021, the Tuen Ma Line has significantly enhanced travel convenience for the public. Track modification was completed before commissioning to connect the new Tuen Ma Line platform in Hung Hom Station. The remaining follow-up works have been carried out in phases after the line opening as planned. As the follow-up works enter the final stage, adjustments to the cant and slew of the track, signalling system, and overhead line facilities will be carried out between Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations. Inspections will also be conducted before train service begins on the following day. Upon the completion of the works, trains are expected to operate more smoothly in this section and provide more comfortable journeys for passengers.
The works involve complex procedures and it is not feasible to divide them into parts to be completed within the "golden two hours" window during non-traffic hours. The Corporation will first carry out works along the Wu Kai Sha-bound tracks near Hung Hom Station during the early hours between 1 and 2 February 2026, followed by works on the Tuen Mun-bound tracks during the early hours between 8 and 9 March 2026. The project team has undertaken detailed preparations with the aim of completing the works smoothly and ensuring normal train service starting from the first train on 2 February and 9 March 2026.
Train service of the Tuen Ma Line and Special Arrangements at Hung Hom Station Platforms
To facilitate the works, the Tuen Ma Line will maintain full line service at every station and maintain the normal train frequencies for Sundays on 1 February and 8 March 2026. Most passengers' journeys will remain unchanged. Only passengers whose journeys pass through Hung Hom Station should pay attention to the following arrangements which will be implemented starting from the first train:
• Trains departing from Wu Kai Sha Station will terminate at Hung Hom Station, then return to Wu Kai Sha Station;
• Trains departing from Tuen Mun Station will also terminate at Hung Hom Station, then return to Tuen Mun Station;
• Tuen Ma Line passengers whose journeys pass through Hung Hom Station will need to alight at the station and interchange at the opposite platform to continue their journeys.
More than 150 additional staff will be deployed to guide and assist passengers, including holding giant signage at the Tuen Ma Line platforms in Hung Hom Station to help passengers identify the travelling direction of the trains. Staff will also maintain order and assist passengers in need including passengers travelling with wheelchairs, pregnant passengers and the elderly. Public announcements will be made at stations along the Tuen Ma Line and on trains to remind passengers of the arrangements.
"To minimize the impact on passengers, we have scheduled the works over two Sundays with full line service maintained on the Tuen Ma Line. We would like to thank passengers for their understanding and patience. Should unforeseen circumstances prevent the works from being completed as planned and affect train service on the following day, we will make announcements to promptly inform passengers and implement appropriate service arrangements," said Mr David Chan, Head of Line Group Management – Tuen Ma Line, Light Rail & Bus of MTR Corporation.
The Corporation will continue to disseminate information through multiple channels, including posters and notices in stations, station and in-train public announcements, MTR Mobile, MTR website, media and social media, to remind passengers of the service arrangements. Passengers are advised to allow ample time for their journeys and plan ahead with the “Trip Planner” function on MTR Mobile and the MTR website.
Photo Captions
1. Mr David Chan, Head of Line Group Management – Tuen Ma Line, Light Rail & Bus of MTR Corporation (right), and Mr Jonathan Lau, Chief Infrastructure Development and Engineering Asset Manager of MTR Corporation (left), announce special service arrangements will be implemented at the Tuen Ma Line platforms in Hung Hom Station on 1 February and 8 March 2026 (both Sundays) to facilitate follow-up works for track modification between Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.
Mr David Chan and Mr Jonathan Lau announce Tuen Ma Line special service arrangements
2. The Tuen Ma Line will continue to provide full line service at every station and maintain the normal train frequencies for Sundays on 1 February and 8 March 2026. Most passengers' journeys will remain unchanged. Only passengers whose journeys pass through Hung Hom Station will need to alight at the station and interchange at the opposite platform to continue their journeys.
Tuen Ma Line service arrangements on 1 and 8 March 2026
Passengers interchanging at Hung Hom Station on Tuen Ma Line
3. The projects team has utilised about 600 "golden two hours” windows during non-traffic hours to date to complete the remaining follow-up works between Hung Hom and East Tsim Sha Tsui stations on the Tuen Ma Line.
Project team conducting follow-up works on Tuen Ma Line during non-traffic hours
Walk into a Zhengzhou Metro station and a different scene from previous days will greet you. Corners that once sat empty now house breakfast stalls, coffee shops, and convenience stores. Behind this shift is MTR Corporation’s push to "export" its decades of station retail experience to the Mainland.
Aaron Lam, Senior Manager of MTR Corporation and a member of its Mainland Station Commercial Business Development team, noted in an exclusive interview with Bastille Post that MTR has successfully exported its "Secondary Development" model to the Mainland, upgrading existing station spaces in cities including Chengdu and Zhengzhou. The move has driven average rents up by more than threefold, and MTR has signed cooperation intentions with Qingdao, Chongqing and Hangzhou, etc.
Aaron Lam, Senior Manager of MTR Corporation and a member of its Mainland Station Commercial Business Development team. Photo by Bastille Post
As a vibrant modern metropolis, Chengdu has a resident population exceeding 21 million and a rail transit network ranking fourth nationwide, handling up to 7 million passenger trips a day. Yet the commercial value of its metro stations had long gone untapped. "In many Mainland cities, rail transit is primarily viewed as a public service and transport function, so station interiors often lack planning for retail units or commercial space," Aaron said.
Shenxianshu Station on the Chengdu Metro before its "Secondary Development." Photo source: MTR
Shenxianshu Station on the Chengdu Metro after its "Secondary Development." Photo source: MTR
Drawing on nearly 50 years of railway operations and more than 20 years of station retail management in Hong Kong, MTR brought its Secondary Development model to Chengdu. For Aaron, the starting point is MTR’s customer-centric approach to improving the passenger experience: "A journey isn’t necessarily just getting from point A to point B. It can also involve everyday needs, like buying something, charging a phone."
In 2020, MTR and Chengdu Rail Transit Group signed a cooperation agreement and established Chengdu Ronggang Commercial Development Company Limited, marking the start of station commercial reform on the Mainland. Without disrupting train operations, MTR upgraded existing station spaces, introduced water, power, and drainage facilities, and brought in suitable tenants.
Average rents for the first batch of "Secondary Development" shops in Chengdu have surged by more than threefold, with prime locations exceeding RMB 1,000 per square metre. Photo source: MTR
Aaron noted that with the widespread adoption of mobile payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, surplus physical ticket machines could be removed, freeing up more space for shops. He described the entire process as "very meaningful," since whether it is a breakfast grabbed on the commute, a snack on the way home, or a coffee while waiting for a train, "all of it can make what used to be cold, functional passageways warmer and more convenient."
By 2026, Chengdu Ronggang had completed Secondary Development work across 16 stations and 44 shops in Chengdu. The arrival of pizza chain BOBO Pizza was particularly emblematic. MTR’s team not only installed water and drainage pipes to allow freshly baked pizza to be made inside a metro station, but also aligned baking schedules with train arrival frequencies, guiding the shop to pre-bake ahead of peak passenger flows to achieve a "grab-and-go" model. Within months of opening, passenger traffic at the shop rose by 20–30%, and revenue jumped by more than 30%.
BOBO Pizza. Photo source: online image
Building on the Chengdu results, Aaron and his team have replicated the model in Zhengzhou and are seeking cooperation with Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing. Having achieved a "zero to one" breakthrough in Chengdu, he hopes to extend the model to more cities within three to five years, completing the "one to N" expansion.
Aaron was appointed Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Ronggang Commercial Development Company Limited in 2025. Photo source: MTR
For Aaron, Secondary Development is not only about giving idle station space new commercial value, but also about stepping outside his comfort zone and revaluing himself. After secondary school in the UK and a Master in Civil Engineering from a leading university, Aaron joined MTR in 2011. For his first seven years, he focused on engineering, working on signature projects including the design of the West Kowloon Station's Sky Corridor and the LOHAS Park property development. During that time, the corporation arranged for him to learn about metro station operations, ride along with train crews, plan schedules, and even handle procurement, helping him gradually build a whole-system view of railway operations.
During his trainee engineer training, Aaron participated in the design and construction of the West Kowloon Station's Sky Corridor. Photo source: MTR
In 2018, Aaron reached his first career turning point. Under MTR’s training and promotion mechanisms, he moved from engineering into a station retail management role, taking charge of in-station rental, interior fitting-out works and new station openings. Nevertheless, switching tracks was not easy for him at first.
As an engineer who by habit follows procedure, Aaron was used to regarding engineering as about steps and logic. "When we build a project, we have to finish the first floor before the second and the third," he said. But commercial negotiations, by contrast, are full of variables. Different brands put wildly different values on the same shop unit. It was these encounters with "no standard answer" that honed his flexible commercial thinking step by step.
Aaron Lam. Photo source: MTR
He was later posted to Mainland project teams in Beijing, Chengdu and Zhengzhou, where the working environment changed fundamentally. In Hong Kong, he recalled, MTR departments are all "on the same side." In Chengdu, station operations and services are handled by Chengdu Metro, with MTR responsible only for station commercial business. "The people I communicate with shifted from internal colleagues to partners, and both the reporting lines and the logic of collaboration had to be re-adapted."
Despite the cross-sector move, Aaron stressed that he never left engineering behind. "When I took part in new line construction in Chengdu, I still drew on my engineering background in station and shop planning." When communicating with the Chengdu Metro team, he explained that his technical knowledge helped them understand the feasibility of facility adjustments: "For example, where drainage could go, where equipment could be repositioned," strengthening confidence and cooperation between the two sides.
As of the first half of 2026, MTR has been authorized to operate the commercial resources of over 40 metro lines and more than 800 stations in the Mainland, managing over 1,000 station shops. Photo source: MTR
Looking back on 15 years of his career, Aaron reflected: "Every time I step into something new, I’m nervous, but every step is paving the way for the next." His advice to Hong Kong’s young people is to make good use of their trilingual abilities (Chinese, Cantonese, and English) and their unique advantage of bridging Eastern and Western cultures, to venture boldly into new fields and to apply their strengths on a wider stage.
