Sir Charles Wilfrid Newton, CBE (11 December 1928 – 28 November 2012) was managing director of Hong Kong's

Mass Transit Railway Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...

(MTRC) in the 1980s and

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

in the 1990s.

History

Charles Wilfrid Newton was born on 11 December 1928 in South Africa, and was educated at schools in Johannesburg and the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. Starting out as an accountant in industry, he became group managing director, and subsequently the chief executive of Turner & Newall.

Hong Kong and MTR

In March 1983, he left Turner & Newall to join the Hong Kong's

(MTRC) as chairman and chief executive. The MTR was founded in 1975 as a government owned

statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

to build and operate a mass transit system for the then British colony. The MTR had just opened its first railway line connecting

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...

in 1979. Newton led the building of a new line on Hong Kong island itself – the Island line, which connected the Central district to Chai Wan. In May 1985, Newton presided over the opening ceremony of the line at Tai Koo, with a plaque unveiled by

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kon ...

Sir Edward Youde. Following this, a second harbour tunnel to carry increased numbers of passenger traffic opened in 1989. Thanks to high ridership and

property development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. ...

including shopping malls and development built over railway depots (such as

Telford Gardens Telford Gardens (often referred to as "Telford Garden") is a private housing estate located above the MTR Kowloon Bay Depot and alongside Kowloon Bay station in Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was jointly built by Hang Lung Proper ...

) – the MTR was being run without government subsidy. Newton also chaired the Hong Kong Futures Exchange from 1986 to 1989, as well as becoming a non-executive director of HongkongBank.

London and London Regional Transport

In 1989, Newton was invited to become chairman and chief executive of

, and chairman of

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. Newton's major project was the implementation of the Jubilee Line Extension – the first major extension to the Underground in 20 years. Experts from Hong Kong including

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

architect

Roland Paoletti Romano Roland Paoletti, CBE (23 April 1931 – 13 November 2013) was a British-Italian architect. He was best known for his work on the early stations for Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway, and for commissioning the award-winning designs of th ...

were recruited to progress the multibillion-pound project – which eventually opened in 1999. Following the King's Cross fire in 1987, the state of neglect on the Tube and complacency of London Underground was criticised, with the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, t ...

nicknamed "the Misery line". Newton branded the Tube network "an appalling shambles" at a seminar on the future of London in 1991, noting that "The infrastructure has been neglected for 30 years". Newton subsequently planned a transformation of London Underground into a 'decently modern metro' over a period of 10 years, with upgrades to existing lines and strong service standards. However the recession in the early 1990s cut ticket revenue, which was exacerbated by stop-go investment and

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

budget cuts by around 30 per cent between 1993 and 1996 – making it difficult to progress the upgrade programme. Following the Autumn statement in 1992, Newton was said to have had "a rare public outburst of anger" following a broken promise by the Government to increase investment to more than £700m a year. By March 1993, Newton authorised managers to blame deteriorating services and cancellations on broken Government pledges. Newton himself appeared on television after the November 1993 Budget and criticised the funding of London Regional Transport. Due to retire at 65, Newton was unable to step down as Chairman of London Transport in 1994 as the Treasury vetoed his chosen replacement. Newton eventually stepped down in September 1994, replaced by Peter Ford.

Honours

Owing to his work in Hong Kong, he was appointed CBE in 1988, before being knighted in 1993.

Death

He died on 28 November 2012, aged 83.

References