Faulty-doors delay adds to growing list of woes
About 100 commuters were ordered off an MTR train at Prince Edward station yesterday after a problem developed with its doors in yet another glitch with the operator's new trains.
The doors of the Kwun Tong line train, one of 13 bought from a South Korean-Japanese joint venture company and in service since June, was found to have a problem when it arrived at the station at 6.30am.
'The doors on three of the eight carriages could not close and open smoothly,' a Mass Transit Railway Corporation spokesman said. 'Passengers had to leave the train when it arrived at Prince Edward station and they were asked to take the following train.'
The train was taken to the depot in Kowloon Bay for inspection.
The spokesman said about 100 passengers were affected and their journey took 10 minutes longer than usual.
A probe had been launched into the incident and a report on the cause of the incident would be sent to the Transport Department.
Yesterday's incident was the latest on new MTR trains on the Kwun Tong line.
Commuters have bombarded the MTRC with complaints since technical glitches on board $900 million worth of new trains last month.
On August 9, the corporation said the on-board computers had not fitted in smoothly with the existing system, resulting in delays. Drivers of the new trains had had to switch to manual operation at three signal points on the line. That problem has been solved.
On August 12, the MTR was hit with a new wave of complaints after passengers claimed to have been caught by the doors of its new trains. Two more incidents followed on other MTR trains.
