MTR Corporation in spotlight amid revelations faulty trains were secretly shipped from Singapore to mainland for repairs
Online news agency reported that Singapore sent 35 subway trains back to Qingdao for repairs; MTR has ordered 102 trains from same manufacturer including nine for high-speed link
Transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung has told the MTR Corporation to report on the quality of nine new high-speed trains and another 93 urban trains it purchased from a mainland manufacturer.
This came after 26 faulty subway trains produced by the same firm were reportedly secretly shipped back from Singapore to the mainland for repairs.
Cheung raised the concerns after reports that the mainland-made trains in Singapore had cracks in their bodies and key structural components and they were sent back to their maker in Qingdao for repairs.
The trains were made by CSR Qingdao Sifang Company in a joint venture with Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
The venture has since been renamed CRRC Qingdao Sifang Company.
The same mainland manufacturer is responsible for making nine trains for the express rail link from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and 93 eight-car trains for the MTR’s urban lines after a “rigorous” tendering process in March 2012 and July last year respectively, according to the MTR Corp.
CRRC told Reuters yesterday it would step up quality checks on its products after Singapore shipped 26 of its metro trains back for repair just three years after they were delivered.
“We have to find out more about what’s happening ...That’s why I asked the MTR Corporation to get in touch with the manufacturer, to find out more, and I will expect the corporation to update me,” Cheung said, adding that from what he understood the Singapore authorities did not regard the situation as safety critical.
The MTR Corp will also seek answers from the manufacturer.
It said the new trains would go through a series of tests both in the country of origin and after delivery to Hong Kong.
“All the trains we ordered from CSR Corporation are able to meet our standards at the moment,” MTR projects director Philco Wong Nai-keung said.
