A probe into the East Rail blunders will have to wait until the government and the KCRC find the cause of the equipment failure. At a special board meeting yesterday, the government agreed to take over the inquiry, although the investigation team will include three non-executive members from the company's board of directors. Independent experts would also be asked, though names are not yet available. Legislator Lau Kong-wah, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said using board members was a good move, as they were not management tied to daily operations. Democrat legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo, however, lambasted it. 'We should have an inquiry committee with genuine independence and it should be chaired by an internationally renowned expert in train safety,' he said. But KCRC chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun said board members should be included because they were familiar with operations. 'If the inquiry is led by us, we believe all members should be outsiders, but since now the inquiry will be overseen by the government, we should have some members included to strike a balance.' He said that starting the inquiry immediately was unwise, because at the moment resources should be focused on passenger safety. 'Our staff is already under immense pressure for the inspection works. To engage them in more interviews and inquiries for the time being is not pragmatic,' he said. The inquiry would seek to determine whether anyone violated the notification mechanism and should be held responsible, including himself, he said. Meanwhile, Samuel Lai Man-hay, the acting chief executive of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, said service was normal on the first working day after the trains switched to manual operation on Sunday. 'The busiest time is between 8.15am and 8.45am during which about 12 trains were in service. The number of trains during that half-hour was exactly the same as normal days,' he said.