[19] The full Modified Initial System was opened on 12 February 1980 by Princess Alexandra, who rode the inaugural train through the immersed tube beneath Victoria Harbour to Central station.

This is not to be confused with the modern-day Tsuen Wan West station on Tuen Ma line, which lies on a newly reclaimed area near the former ferry pier.

However this interchange arrangement is not available for all transferring passengers at Kowloon Tong, Central, Hong Kong, Quarry Bay, Nam Cheong (except transfer between Tuen Mun and Hong Kong bound trains), Mei Foo, Tai Wai (only between southbound Tuen Ma line and East Rail line trains) and Sunny Bay (except transfer between Tung Chung and Disneyland Resort bound trains) stations, mainly because this service is available only when there are two continuous stations shared as interchange stations by two lines.

A new pedestrian link to Kowloon Tong station southern concourse and a new entrance (Exit D) opened on 15 April 2004 to cope with the increase in interchange passenger flow.

For example, Tsing Yi station is built next to the Maritime Square shopping centre and directly underneath the Tierra Verde housing estate.

A proposal to extend the existing Kwun Tong line to Whampoa Garden was made in April 2006 and approved in March 2008 as part of the bid for the Sha Tin to Central Link.

These configurations allow the MTR to run at up to 101,000 passengers per hour per direction (p/h/d) on its busy suburban East Rail line and around 85,000 p/h/d on its urban metro network.

[55] These trains feature new 22" LCD TVs, like their counterparts on former KCR lines, and as a result are equipped with MTR In-Train TV, offering infotainment such as news and announcements.

[58] Light rail rolling stock were ordered from four different manufacturers: Commonwealth Engineering (Comeng), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, United Goninan and CRRC Nanjing Puzhen.

[67] LTE (4G) and 5G mobile phone network is in place throughout the whole MTR system of stations and tunnels allowing passengers to stay connected to the internet underground.

In 1992, the announcements were standardised, pre-recorded by RTHK presenter Cheri Chan Yu-yan (Chinese: 陳如茵), who is now an assistant professor of English-language education at the University of Hong Kong, and who remains the voice of the MTR today.

[75] Discussions between the Government and MTRCL have taken into account LegCo members' request for a stronger commitment by the corporation to the provision of public toilets on new railway lines.

This resulted in MTRCL agreeing to include the provision of toilets within, or adjacent to, stations in the overall design parameters for all future new railway lines, subject to planning and regulatory approval and any concerns raised by residents in the vicinity about the location of external ventilation exhausts.

[78][79] Prior to the privatisation of MTRC, MTR stations only had branches of the Hang Seng Bank, Maxim's Cakes stores, and a handful of other shops.

[82] On the other hand, the Tuen Ma line uses a SelTrac moving block communications-based train control (CBTC) system from Alcatel Canada (now Thales Group).

Full-time Hong Kong students between the ages of 12 and 25 qualify for the concessionary rate using a personalised Octopus Card on all lines except on Airport Express, or travel to or from cross-border stations (Lo Wu/Lok Ma Chau).

[118] In June 2000, MTRCL proceeded with plans to retrofit 2,960 pairs of platform screen doors at all 30 underground stations on the Kwun Tong, Tsuen Wan, and Island lines in a six-year programme.

Thereafter, live performances, art exhibitions, display of artwork by established and emerging artists, students and young children have been brought into the MTR stations.

[126][127] The MTR Corporation came under fire in June 2011 after their work on the cross-border high-speed railway line encroached on a conservation area in Pat Heung, Yuen Long.

The corporation became aware that part of the approved tree removal works may have encroached onto the Conservation Area during construction, and proactively reported the situation to the government.

[128][129][130] The MTR Corporation came under fire again in September 2011 after felling dozens of trees in Admiralty as part of construction work for the South Island line.

The MTR Corporation is felling approximately 4,000 trees for the construction of the South Island line, raising concerns from environmental groups and the public about its commitment to protecting Hong Kong's natural environment.

The MTR system is facing pressure from increasing numbers of parallel traders who carry oversized baggage onto trains for resale in China.

The corporation has been criticised for allowing parallel traders to board trains with massive bags, causing undue congestion and inconvenience to residents of the North District.

[132] Furthermore, the corporation accused of double standards in enforcement when images of cross-border smugglers pushing overladen trollies appeared on social network sites on a regular basis, whilst local students carrying large musical instruments were reported to have been stopped and issued with written warnings.

[134] Following the public uproar, MTR issued a press release in the early hours acknowledging discontent and announcing a one-month review of the policy on oversized items to see whether there was room for fine-tuning that would not compromise on passenger safety.

[137] In May 2019, the MTR Corporation and the Airport Authority Hong Kong reportedly refused to display a Cathay Pacific advertisement featuring two men holding hands due to its LGBT message.

[138] On 21 July 2019, a mob of men dressed in white and carrying wooden sticks and metal pipes entered the MTR's Yuen Long station and assaulted people indiscriminately.

[143] On 31 August 2019, during the anti-extradition bill protests, Special Tactical Squad officers of the Hong Kong Police Force entered Prince Edward station and attacked people inside.

[149][150][151] On 24 August 2019, MTR arranged a special train exclusively to carry riot police to Kowloon Bay station, which was closed to the public at that time due to the demonstration nearby at Kwun Tong.