Power failure hits Hong Kong’s high-speed rail services to Shenzhen
- Eighteen trains to Futian in Shenzhen affected
- CLP Power said two out of three power cables feeding electricity to Shek Kong electricity substation failed to resume supply after maintenance
Hong Kong’s cross-border high-speed rail suffered its first major breakdown since launching in September as 18 trains to Futian in Shenzhen were cancelled at one stage due to a power failure on Saturday.
At 7.35am, the MTR Corporation, which operates the Hong Kong section of the link, said the trains in question would resume service after some emergency measures were taken. The rail giant said the issue was temporarily resolved by channelling power from the network of its mainland operating partner to local train services.
Electricity provider CLP Power said it was seeking to fully restore supply to affected services. It added that it would report its findings to the government once the root cause of the problem was identified.
By 10 am, the West Kowloon terminus was packed with passengers and services were back to normal. Some of the commuters said they were not aware of the temporary power problem earlier in the morning.
Affected passenger Lam Chik-kai, who booked tickets to Futian, said the MTR Corp’s arrangement could have been better. The 45-year-old clerk said he was uncertain whether services would resume after hearing news of the cancellations at around 6 am. “I wasn’t worried because it was a short trip. I can just go to another port.”
Lam said he did not receive any notification about the situation and had to call the company’s hotline at about 8am. He was then told services would resume.
“If I had crossed the border from another port, then the ticket would have been wasted,” he said.