One group had to be there as part of its job. The other, and bigger, took the journey more as a fun ride.

Reporters and photographers yesterday had hundreds of "Mickey" train enthusiasts for company on the maiden run of MTR's Disney line. Even though the first train for Hong Kong Disneyland left Sunny Bay at 6:15 am, there was no dearth of passengers.

"I reached Sunny Bay at 6 am because I was eager to try out this new line. I think the design of the trains is appropriate for the line and puts people in a holiday mood, with thematic colours and displays," said Fred Li.

The new trains have four compartments that can carry up to 700 passengers.

Robert Kaman, a photography enthusiast, said he was impressed by Disneyland Resort station's design. "I think they've done a fine job with its interior that combines classic Victorian elements and Disney's signature. Most people will be awed when they come here for the first time," the enthusiast said.

The head of MTR operations, Wilfred Lau Cheuk-man, said: "Operation of the Disneyland Resort line was smooth in the morning, except for a minor delay around 7 am when a train missed the platform doors. But such minor delays are not uncommon on MTR lines."

By 11 am, about 5,000 people had used the new line, 80 per cent of them theme park employees. Lau said: "During the first hour, we recorded 200 passengers when the frequency of service was about 10 minutes."

MTR expects passenger flow to increase this weekend, for which it'll run trains at shorter, four-minute intervals.

"We will consider crowd control measures if the weekend rush of passengers is too high. We may even shut the gates to the stations," Lau said.

Enquiry services for ticket and other information at five MTR stations will be outsourced to cope with staff shortage after the new line opens. The railway company said the demand for station operators had increased in recent months because of the impending opening of the Disney line.

(China Daily HK Edition August 2, 2005)