Hong Kong railway operator, the MTR Corporation (MTRC), has proposed increasing Airport Express fares by 9.4 per cent. They will come into effect in June if approved.
According to the proposal submitted to the legislature on Tuesday, an adult Octopus holder will have to pay HK$120 per trip between Hong Kong Station and the airport – up from HK$110 – whereas a single-journey regular ticket for that trip will increase from HK$115 to HK$130.
Airport Express fares will increase by HK$5 to HK$10 for an adult Octopus card holder and by HK$10 to HK$15 for a single-journey regular ticket, depending on the location of the MTR station. The Airport Express currently runs between the airport and Hong Kong Station, with stops at Tsing Yi and Kowloon stations.
“The Airport Express has been facing a sustained financial crisis due to the drop in passengers following the pandemic since 2020,” the MTRC said in the Chinese-language proposal.
The MTRC said the passenger volume on the Airport Express had only recovered to around 70 per cent of pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, whereas operating costs had steadily increased.
The company said that, from 2017 to 2024, inflation in Hong Kong rose 13.8 per cent and energy costs increased 27 per cent.
Airport Express fares have remained the same since June 2017, while airport trains in London, Sydney, Tokyo, and Seoul have hiked their fares 13 to 38 per cent during the same period, the MTRC also said.
The railway operator pledged to invest over HK$2 billion in the 27-year-old Airport Express system over the next few years and to roll out ticketing discounts, including those for families and children.
The MTRC earlier announced that it would freeze fares for its other lines in the city, despite its fare-adjustment mechanism allowing for a 1.45 per cent increase.
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