MTR faces HK$15m fine over Yuen Long derailment
Transport chief says whether light-rail operator will be fined will depend on the findings of investigations into incident that left 77 hurt
The MTR Corporation could be fined as much as HK$15 million over the derailment of a light-rail train in Yuen Long on Friday that saw 77 passengers going to hospitals, the transport chief said.
The MTR yesterday apologised for the accident, the most serious derailment in the light-rail network's 25-year history.
A recently revised fare-adjustment mechanism that penalises any suspension of services lasting more than eight hours made such a fine possible, Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said at the site of the crash.
"If the incident is not something the MTR cannot control, it can be fined," he said. "And since the suspension lasted for more than eight hours, the maximum fine would be HK$15 million."
Both carriages of the light-rail train left the tracks at 4.15pm on Friday. Services did not resume until 8.10am yesterday.
Of the 150 passengers, 77 aged between six months and 70 years were taken to five hospitals. Six remained in hospital yesterday.
MTR chief executive Jay Walder, who accompanied Cheung, apologised to those affected.