MTR has seen passengers increase by 16.7 percent year-on-year in the first six months of this year, as it reported a profit for the first time since 2019.

Releasing first half results, MTR Corp announced that the number of passengers has increased to 646 million while reporting a net profit of HK$2.67 billion.

The company stated that although the number of passengers have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, the vaccination program and the easing of some social distancing measures led to improvements in passenger count.

But the MTR also pointed out that the closure of border crossing has led to a near total loss in passengers for its cross-border services, and the effects travel restrictions have on the city's air travel has led to a significant decrease in the number of passengers using the Airport Express.

“In order for the passenger count to return to pre-pandemic levels, we need to depend on the economic recovery and reopening of the border,” Jacob Kam Chak-pui, chief executive officer of the MTR, stated.

The company also said that the cross-harbour section of the Sha Tin-to-Central link project was now 94.3 percent complete.

The section, which would see the East Rail Line extend from Hung Hom to Admiralty, was originally scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year, but was delayed for five months due to problems with a new signaling system.

Kam stated that the MTR would pay full effort to minimize delays to the opening.