Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, at a media session after attending radio programmes today (October 18):
Reporter: During the programme, you said that you support the MTR's decision to close earlier at around 10 o'clock because it's necessary. Can you explain why it is necessary and when do you think it can resume normal operations?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: As far as we know, there are a lot of maintenance checking and safety monitoring of all the equipment and systems of (such) a vast railway network in Hong Kong. The establishment or number of staff that we have are able to cope with the day-to-day work, but as we envisage because of the damage in the past few months, there are a lot of repair, revamp and testing before the system could be fully recovered. Therefore, we need more time and less pressure for the MTR staff to concentrate on their necessary work.
Reporter: When do you think it can resume operating…
Secretary for Transport and Housing: We are trying to resume it back to normal operation as soon as the entire system is back to normal.
Reporter: Will it take maybe one or two weeks?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: I won't speculate but I am sure that the MTR team is making their best endeavour to do that.
Reporter: Earlier you said it would take one or two weeks. Under what situation would it take one or two weeks?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: It all depends on whether or not there will be incoming damage. If everything remains normal and there would be no further attack or damage, then I would say that one or two weeks would be possibly the target.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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