Business Overview
MTR is regarded as one of the world's leading railway operators for safety, reliability, customer service and cost efficiency.
The MTR Corporation was established in 1975 as the Mass Transit Railway Corporation with a mission to construct and operate, under prudent commercial principles, an urban metro system to help meet Hong Kong's public transport requirements. The sole shareholder was the Hong Kong Government.
The Company was re-established as the MTR Corporation Limited in June 2000 after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government sold 23% of its issued share capital to private investors in an Initial Public Offering. MTR Corporation shares were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on 5 October 2000.
The Corporation marked another major milestone on 2 December 2007 when the operations of the other Government-owned rail operator, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, were merged into the MTR, heralding a new era in Hong Kong railway development.
Other than bringing more efficient and competitively-priced services to local rail passengers, the merger brought new growth opportunities to the MTR Corporation's businesses in and outside of Hong Kong.
The current rail network comprises nine railway lines serving Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. In addition, a Light Rail network serves the local communities of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long in the New Territories while a fleet of buses provide convenient feeder services.
The Corporation also operates the Airport Express, a dedicated high-speed link providing the fastest connections to Hong Kong International Airport and the city's major exhibition and conference centre, AsiaWorld-Expo.
For journeys beyond Hong Kong, MTR commenced service in September 2018 of the 26-km Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail (Hong Kong Section). Running from Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, the High Speed Rail connects Hong Kong to the national high speed rail network and passengers can conveniently travel directly to many destinations in Mainland China without interchange.
Passengers can also travel with ease from Hong Kong to Guangdong Province, Beijing and Shanghai using the MTR's intercity railway services.
Today, MTR Corporation is involved in a wide range of business activities in addition to its railway operations. These include the development of residential and commercial projects, property leasing and management, advertising, telecommunication services and international consultancy services.
From its starting base in Hong Kong, the Corporation has expanded into Mainland China and taken on a range of railway-related projects and operations internationally. In Mainland China, the Corporation now operates Beijing Metro Line 4, Daxing Line, Line 14, Line 16 and Line 17, Shenzhen Metro Line 4, Hangzhou Metro Line 1 and Line 5. In Macao, the service contract managed by the MTR’ s wholly owned subsidiary in assisting the operations and maintenance of the Macao Light Rapid Transit Taipa Line has completed in December 2024. Internationally, the Corporation operates and manages Elizabeth line (previously known as TfL Rail) service and jointly operates and manages the South Western rail franchise in the United Kingdom. The Corporation operates and manages Melbourne’s Metropolitan Rail Service and Sydney Metro North West Line in Australia, Stockholm Metro (Stockholms tunnelbana) in Sweden. In September 2014 the Northwest Rapid Transit Consortium, of which the Corporation is a shareholder, was awarded the Operations, Trains and Systems Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract for the Sydney Metro Northwest project in Australia. The PPP contract was extended in 2019 to include the operation and maintenance of the combined Sydney Metro North West Line and Sydney Metro City & Southwest Line. On top of that, the scope of the Corporation's consultancy business has also covered cities across Asia and Australia.
Based on the successful "rail plus property" development model in Hong Kong, the Corporation has expanded into Mainland China with property businesses in Beijing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hangzhou. The sales of "Tiara", the first MTR property development project in Mainland China, were well received. The project completed construction and sold units were handed over to buyers.
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The management of the Corporation is overseen by a chief executive officer and an executive committee. They report to a Board headed by a non-executive chairman and made up of local business and community leaders and government representatives.
The Corporation is committed to a high standard of business ethics and integrity. To foster an ethical culture in the workplace, all staff are required to follow a Code of Conduct in their daily duty.