Big boys get to play on fun ride
THE territory's first indoor roller coaster hauled a hoard of heavyweights around its 240-metre track yesterday.
After struggling to meet tough safety standards for 18 months, the Sky Train at the Dragon Centre, Shamshuipo, opened with sumo star Tanaka and a troupe of budding wrestlers on board.
The Sky Train was approved by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and an operating licence was granted by the Urban Council last month.
The department has been getting tough with amusement ride operators after a problem on the Eagle Ride at Ocean Park in August.
Six teenagers were trapped 26 metres in the air for more than two hours in the incident, which was blamed on a faulty insulation seal.
A department spokesman said the giant Ferris wheel at Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park had been temporarily closed because engineers were dissatisfied with its condition.
He said six rides at various parks had also been suspended until engineers were satisfied with safety modifications.
Wall mounted foundations were reinforced for the Sky Train, which runs around the centre's atrium eight floors in the air.
The department said that a net supported by steel cables had been laid across the seventh floor.
