- Spokesman refuses to disclose number of gates bought, where they will be installed and how much company has spent on new barriers
- Former contractor raises safety concerns but rail operator says gates do not need to be monitored as they will not be connected to electricity source
New sliding gates have been installed on at least two "high-risk" MTR lines in Hong Kong after repeated vandalism in stations in recent weeks, the city's rail giant has said.
While a former contractor raised concerns about the installations' safety, the MTR Corporation and the government said the gates did not need to be monitored as they would not be connected to electricity.
The stations that will be equipped with new gates at their entrances are along the Ma On Shan and Kwun Tong lines. The MTR confirmed the gates would not be connected to electricity in a reply to the Post. They would be operated manually only after the closure of the station as an extra security measures behind the existing rolling gates.
An MTR source confirmed the gates had been installed in at least five stations since last Friday, including Kwun Tong station that was heavily vandalised on October 4. The rest of the gates were installed at Ma On Shan line stations. They would evaluate the situation and see whether additional gates could be put on other lines.
A spokesman refused to disclose the number of gates bought, where they would be installed and how much the company had spent on the new barriers.
The government department that monitors the safety of trains, escalators and public lifts said this type of sliding gate was not under any legal regulations.
"The gates are not for public use and will not affect railway safety, so we do not see a need to monitor them," an Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) spokesman said, while issuing safety guidelines to remind users to be careful when installing and using the gates.
Jason Poon Chuk-hung, managing director of subcontractor China Technology Corporation, doubted the safety of the additional gates.
"The gates may pose a threat if children put their fingers inside the gaps," Poon said. "Have they fulfilled requirements under the fire services ordinance? Will they disrupt the emergency routes?"
He said he understood the gates were bought from mainland China and was concerned about their safety given there were no monitoring guidelines by the government. Poon was one of the contractors who entered a dispute with main contractor Leighton after a scandal engulfed the Sha Tin-Central link last year.
Meanwhile, Peter Wong Yiu-sun, the former president of the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers, said there was little to be worried about since the new gates were not connected to a power source.
"Even if the gates were controlled by motors, I do not see much of an issue," he said. "The only thing is to ensure is that the gate is safe to operate and sturdy.
"But of course, it is always better if the EMSD pays more attention to these new measures at an earlier stage since they are more professional compared with the daily railway assistants who will probably operate the gates."
Hong Kong's anti-government protesters have accused the MTR of kowtowing to Beijing by closing stations before demonstrations could take place since August 24. Since then, there has been a sustained campaign of vandalism against the city's rail operator, with fires started at station entrances, and turnstiles, gates and station offices trashed
Train service has remained limited for the past week, closing hours earlier than usual, with unscheduled station closures in response to protests.
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