MTR's West Island Line opens

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After a bruising year beset with delayed projects, budget overruns, breakdowns and the premature departure of its chief executive, the MTR Corporation finally has something to celebrate with the opening - on time - of the West Island Line extension today.

[size=0.875em]Trains will, however, skip Sai Ying Pun station, which is not projected to open until March.

At a ceremony launching the new service yesterday, the railway operator's operations director, Jacob Kam Chak-pui, warned there would be "some teething problems", as with "any new railway around the world". He gave the example of trains not stopping exactly where they should, meaning passengers might have to wait for a few seconds to get on or off of them.

Hours after returning from his duty visit to Beijing, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying officiated at the ceremony at Kennedy Town's new station. He told a crowd of more than 100 that it was he who had persuaded the previous administration to build the extension.

Leung, who was the Executive Council convenor between 1999 and 2011, said he and his predecessor, Chung Sze-yuen, had lobbied the government to commit to railway projects that would not be profitable in commercial terms but would benefit the community.

"We have been waiting for the opening of a new MTR line for the past six years," he said of the launch of the three-kilometre extension that will connect Sheung Wan with the University of Hong Kong and Kennedy Town.

But Yvonne Leung Lai-kwok, president of the university's student union, had other matters on her mind. "How long have citizens been waiting for genuine universal suffrage?" she shouted, holding a yellow umbrella aloft. Earlier, also holding a yellow umbrella, legislator "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, was taken away by security staff as he shouted, "Leung Chun-ying, step down!"

The chief executive dismissed the hecklers, saying: "There are always some people who think they speak the truth because they shout the loudest."

He later boarded a train with a group of elderly people and children for a trial run.

After arriving at the university station, Leung Chun-ying told the MTR executives accompanying him: "Without universal suffrage, we have managed to do the job. With universal suffrage, we'll be able to do better." He was referring to universal suffrage as prescribed by the National People's Congress.

Kennedy Town residents had mixed reactions to the new railway line. Agnes Liu, 35, a teacher who works in Mong Kok, was happy. "With the MTR it will be much more convenient for us. There are often long queues for the minibus and I have to wait 15 minutes every morning."

But retiree Wong Sun-yui, 68, said living in the neighbourhood had become costlier as the MTR extension had driven rents up. "Many small businesses like bakeries, stationery stores and cha chaan teng can't afford to pay high rents and have been forced out. They've been replaced by bars, Japanese restaurants and more expensive shops. Old people find it hard to afford it here."SCMP