A signalling failure at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station made hundreds of commuters late for work yesterday morning. Trains travelling in both directions between Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui were delayed after the failure at 8am. It took an hour to solve the problem. As trains backed up, large crowds of passengers built up at platforms on many stations. Crowd control measures were taken at Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsuen Wan and Mongkok stations, with turnstiles temporarily closed to prevent additional passengers entering the platforms. Some passengers waiting on platforms said they were given wrong information about the delays as the announcement of a delay lasting a few minutes turned into something longer. 'We apologise to our passengers,' said MTR Corp spokeswoman Helen Cheung. 'We need to conduct further investigations to find out what caused the signal failure.' A Transport Department spokesman said signalling problems were common on MTR and KCR routes. The department would not request a detailed report on the incident but would ask the MTR Corp to explain to officials what caused the problem. Passengers with complaints or comments or those seeking compensation for being inconvenienced by the delay should call the MTR customer hotline on 2881 8888.
