This article was first published on October 2, 1979
Confusion as tube rolls
Chaos and kinks marked the passenger opening of the Mass Transit Railway on Monday October 1, 1979.
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About 230,000 people passed through the system, causing massive queues and at times, bedlam.
Most of the volume was concentrated on Shek Kip Mei and Kwun Tong stations, at opposite ends of the five-mile line.
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Both were swamped by thousands of people, causing massive congestion and testing the system to its full extent.
In-between stations were quieter, but still busy enough to keep MTR staff going flat out with inquiries and requests for directions.
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