300 Hong Kong commuters trapped on broken Tai Po train for two hours

More than 300 Guangzhou-bound commuters were trapped on a cross-border train for more than two hours yesterday after it broke down in Tai Po.

The train's electricity was cut off, shutting down the lighting and air-conditioning, and its standby battery immediately went into operation to provide emergency lighting and ventilation for passengers, according to the MTR Corporation.

But a message reading "dizzy, call of nature, lack of oxygen, help" was displayed on a piece of paper by a girl and stuck on the window of the train which halted near Tai Po Market MTR station shortly before 1.45pm.

The MTR spokeswoman said the situation lasted for more than an hour, until a second engine arrived and pushed the train to a nearby platform at the station at about 3pm.

After spending about an hour repairing the train and carrying out tests, the through train was allowed to continue its journey to Guangzhou East Station at about 4pm.

The spokeswoman said passengers were not allowed to leave the train during the incident because they had gone through immigration clearance before they boarded the train at Hung Hom station.