Dog's death on tracks prompts MTR to adopt animal rescue measures
Public anger over the death of a stray on the tracks in August triggered a task force to report on the incident, come up with recommendations
Public outrage after a stray dog was killed by a train this summer spurred the MTR Corporation to carry out its first report into an animal death on the tracks.
Animal lovers blamed MTR staff for failing to retrieve the stray from the tracks and allowing the dog to be hit by a train near Fanling. An MTR task force reported this month on the handling of dogs on the tracks after the animal was hit and killed by an intercity train in August.
"The dog on the tracks incident on August 20 raised a lot of public concern, therefore we appointed a task force to conduct a review of this incident," an MTR spokeswoman told the Sunday Morning Post.
Hundreds joined a funeral procession for the animal and more than 90,000 people signed a petition seeking an explanation from the MTR.
The task force of six MTR staff recommended trains should be halted when a dog is spotted on the tracks and should be resumed when it has left the tracks.
Trains were stopped outside Sheung Shui station for eight minutes in August after the dog was spotted on the southbound track, the report said.
Station staff tried to coax the animal on to the platform but it bit a member of staff as she tried to pull the dog up.