Hong Kong rail operator taps star power to promote safer escalator use

Hong Kong’s rail operator has launched a new advertising campaign featuring veteran actor Kent Cheng Jak-si, aiming to discourage the long-standing commuter habit of walking on escalators after reports of more than 500 related accidents annually.

In the MTR Corporation’s promotional video, to be shown in stations and on social media, the 75-year-old actor demonstrates safe escalator use, drawing on a catchphrase from his role as the ancient Chinese politician Dong Zhao in a 2012 TVB drama.

Although the railway operator has promoted the “stand on the right, walk on the left” practice since the 1980s, it has sought since 2024 to reverse this norm by encouraging passengers to “stand on both sides”.

The rail giant says the approach is safer and more efficient, though it has drawn mixed reactions.

Aaron Kei Chun-on, the founder of Train Not Arriving, one of Hong Kong’s largest rail fan groups, said changing a decades-old habit – one widely adopted around the world – would take more than time.

He said creativity would be essential to persuading passengers of the practice’s efficiency; otherwise, it risked being dismissed as a purely safety-driven measure.