The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) will enhance security measures and extend service hours for the Olympic equestrian events starting August 9.

"We have been working closely with the government especially the Security Bureau and police to ensure passengers' safety," said head of operations Wilfred Lau.

The MTR and government have conducted 10 joint exercises so far.

We may conduct bag checks, depending on the situation, but we won't conduct X-ray checks, Lau said.

"We have lots of contingency plans in place," he said.

The railway operator has hired about 200 security guards from two companies to patrol trains and stations.

More manpower will be deployed if needed, Lau added.

Just like the arrangement in 2005 for the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, over 800 rubbish bins will be removed from station platforms except for those at Light Rail stations.

Meanwhile, the MTR will extend service hours on Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong and East Rail lines during the events.

The first train will operate three hours before the first event of the day, and the last train will run one and a half to two hours after the last event. Trains will run at 12-minute intervals during these special hours.

Details about the special services can be obtained from MTR customer service centers.

Lau said no staff will be allowed to take leave during the events, while non-frontline staff will offer passengers assistance at Fanling, University, Fo Tan and Sha Tin stations.

"Passengers may flood certain stations at certain hours. In that case, we may have to implement crowd control measures without prior notice," Lau said.

Such measures include trains skipping some stations, or shutting down entry gates to prevent people from entering already crowded platforms.

Lau called on the public to pay attention to broadcasting at stations during the events.

To provide clear directions to spectators, posters printed with event names will be displayed at the five main interchange stations: Admiralty, East Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, Prince Edward and Kowloon Tong.

There will be signage at University and Fanling stations to direct spectators to the terminus where they can take shuttle buses to the venues.

(HK Edition 08/01/2008 page1)