UK expert for MTR inquiry

DAILY checks on Mass Transit Railway carriage couplings will be carried out until the cause of an accident that left passengers stranded in a tunnel is discovered, engineers said yesterday.

The Governor, Mr Chris Patten, has appointed a top British rail expert to investigate the accident; while the MTR will complete its own inquiries and present its findings in two weeks.

MTR operations director Mr Bill Donald said the ''split train'' had run three services between Tsuen Wan and Central on Tuesday morning before one of the couplings became detached from the front portion of the train at 8.42 am, leaving the rear three carriages behind.

Passengers in those cars had to walk back through a tunnel between Tai Wo Hau and Tsuen Wan to reach the station. Services on the line were suspended for almost an hour, leaving thousands of commuters stranded.

A visual inspection of the faulty coupling immediately after the accident and a series of tests conducted yesterday at the Tsuen Wan depot did not reveal any problems with the linkage.

MTR chairman Mr Hamish Matthews said that, following Tuesday's incident, management had ordered that train couplings be inspected daily before operation.

In the past, the couplings were visually checked every 10 days, tested mechanically every six months, and thoroughly dissembled and inspected for damage and possible replacement every 10 years, Mr Matthews said.