Power supply failure delays Hong Kong MTR trains during Friday night rush hour
Tsuen Wan, Kwun Tong and Island lines back to normal service
From about 5pm, trains on the line running between the western New Territories and the heart of Hong Kong Island arrived at stations every four minutes, the MTR Corporation said.
The company said the delays had been caused by a power supply failure between Mei Foo and Cheung Sha Wan stations in Kowloon, leading to train service intervals of 10 to 15 minutes along the line.
Trains on the railway system’s Kwun Tong and Island lines adjusted their departures in light of the delays.
The MTR announced it had resolved the power problem at 6.15pm, but large crowds crammed station platforms for some time after.
At Prince Edward station, commuters boarding a train to Tsuen Wan comprised half the platform. And in a scene that played out throughout the railway line, passengers at the back of the queue pushed those lined up in front of them as those inside the train pushed back to get off.
A commuter surnamed Suen claimed he had to wait for four trains to pass through Prince Edward Station before he could board one.
“It’s always like this,” he said of the MTR train delays. “What do you expect?”
Suen estimated travel time would be delayed by up to 20 minutes.
The railway operator has had frequent service breakdowns in recent months. In May, its East Rail line service was disrupted after an overhead cable near Hung Hom suddenly snapped, stranding thousands of passengers during the evening rush hour.
In April, equipment failure on a train on the Tung Chung line caused 12-minute service intervals.
In February, South Horizons station on the South Island line was closed for four hours because of flooding caused by a burst water pipe.
Additional reporting by Brian Wong
