The MTR had embarked on a four-year programme to improve the safety and stability of the power supply to trains even before a recent spate of incidents related to power failure.
The exercise started last year, but the rail company yesterday gave out more details at a time when the MTR has experienced at least four power-related incidents that caused delays of up to eight minutes in the past three and a half months.
The upgrade will cost $70 million and is supposed to replace transformers with newer models by early 2007 to improve the reliability of power supply, said Phil Gaffney, managing director of operations and business.
'Such equipment will more efficiently transform [power] supplied by the overhead lines to train lighting and air-conditioning, as the [new models] have fewer mechanical parts,' he said.
At a demonstration of maintenance and operations at Kowloon Bay Depot yesterday, Mr Gaffney said overhead cables are checked regularly by a $40 million test vehicle which was purchased in 1998 to measure the alignment of tracks and overhead power lines.
'All the measured data will be analysed for efficient planning and implementation of maintenance and renewal,' he said.