The MTR Corporation said yesterday its train door safety standards met international requirements after an incident in Seoul where a woman was dragged several metres after her clothing was caught in the doors.
Closed-circuit cameras at a metro station in Seoul showed the woman boarding a train on Thursday morning with her child in a pram when the doors began to close, trapping the pram. The woman managed to pull the pram free with the help of a passer-by, but her clothing got caught in the doors in the process and she was dragged several metres before she managed to break free. She was slightly injured and her baby escaped unscathed.
Thirteen of the MTR's fleet of 130 trains were manufactured in South Korea, a spokeswoman for the MTR Corp said yesterday. But she could not confirm whether they were made by the same manufacturer or were the same models as those used in Seoul.
'We can't comment on the issue as we don't have information on their operations, the train design and the incident,' the MTR spokeswoman said.
'Compartments for 13 of our trains were manufactured in South Korea but the safety specifications design was done by MTR staff. We have professionals who follow up and carry out quality checks.
'Our train doors have an obstacle detection device which will prevent the train from starting when objects trapped between the doors are larger than the design's tolerance.'