****************************************
The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, welcomed the vote of the MTR Corporation (MTRC) Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) today (October 9) in favour of the proposed merging of the two railway companies.
¡§The merger will benefit the community as a whole. The merger could create synergy and enhance economic effectiveness, ultimately to passengers¡¦ benefit. We welcome the EGM¡¦s vote to support this proposal,¡¨ said Ms Cheng.
¡§The two railway companies are making final preparations for the merger. We will also introduce to the Legislative Council as soon as possible the related subsidiary legislation for the designation of an Appointed Date for the merger. Our target is to give effect to merger before the end of this year. ¡¨
¡§2.8 million daily rail passenger trips will benefit from fare reduction from day one of the merger,¡¨she said.
Ends/Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 19:51
NNNN
