MTR wades through floods of crises

At damaged turnstiles, MTR staff hold sensors for passengers to tap their transport cards, while computer screens show the balance of the cards.

The temporary replacement was a brainchild of the engineering team, said the manager. "No one had ever planned for, 'what if all our turnstiles were out of order'," the manager added.

For the past two months, working overtime and sometimes overnight has been the norm for MTR employees. Most are accustomed to working in shifts during the 18 hours of operations. Now, once a metro station becomes damaged during protests, which frequently occurred during weekends, some staff remain on duty to clean up and repair damages, before the service begins again at 6 am.

These efforts ensured that most MTR services are restored in time for the some 5 million passengers who use MTR services each day.