Thousands stranded in Hong Kong MTR railway service disruption

A severe service disruption on Thursday along Hong Kong’s key commuter railway line to the Shenzhen border left thousands of passengers stranded and scrambling for alternative transport during the evening rush hour.

There was chaos at East Rail line stations after an overhead cable near Hung Hom suddenly snapped – a rare occurrence – at around 3pm, knocking out power and disrupting train services for 41 /2 hours.

“It’s very rare that an overhead cable suddenly snapped. It showed that there is something wrong with the MTR’s inspection mechanism. It needs to review the system or consider using rigid overhead conductors to replace cables,” pro-establishment lawmaker and rail expert Michael Tien Puk-sun said.

The breakdown first brought a train to a sudden halt 400 metres from Mong Kok East station, forcing some 110 passengers to get off and walk along the tracks to the nearest platform.