December 21, 2005 A compressor comes loose as a train pulls into Fo Tan station. Passengers transfer to another train. Train undergoes thorough checks. December 22-23 KCRC reports incident to the government and promises a detailed report after magnetic testing of fittings under all trains. December 24-25 Test report to KCRC senior transport director Li Yun-tai reveals cracks in mountings of nine other compressors. Findings not reported to the government. January 3, 2006 Acting chief executive officer Samuel Lai told of findings but does not notify chairman Michael Tien. January 7 KCRC conducts 48-hour surveillance of trains. January 9 Report shows two other train parts have cracks. Mr Lai reports this to Mr Tien. January 10 KCRC tells inspector of railways of problems. January 11 Directors meet. Problems are made public with government press release about a letter sent to KCRC condemning notification delay. January 26 KCRC's report on the problems is due. Past blunders July 21, 2005 Newspaper reports reveal a two-train collision occurred at the Pat Heung depot a week ago. Up to 70,000 commuters are delayed by a West Rail signal problem. May 21, 2004 West Rail controller fails to notify the Transport Department about a signal breakdown that led to a four-hour delay. The department only learns of the delay from television news. December 12, 2003 A 5mm crack is found in Kowloon Tong station, causing trains to be slowed during morning peak hour. The department and the media are informed 18 minutes after the discovery.
