Safety concerns over MTR’s new signalling system means likely delay in bringing it online after crash
- The SelTrac system is part of MTR Corp’s ‘Rail Gen 2.0’ initiative
- Supplied by French company Thales, it was expected to be introduced in 2018, and had already been put back until later this year
Progress in upgrading the signalling system on two of Hong Kong’s busiest metro lines has been left in limbo, as off-hours tests are suspended until further notice because of safety concerns arising from Monday’s crash.
The accident, which took place between Central and Admiralty stations at 3am, occurred as MTR Corporation employees were testing the new signalling system on the Tsuen Wan line.
The system, supplied by French company Thales and known as SelTrac, is also to be installed on six other lines as part of the “Rail Gen 2.0” initiative MTR Corp had undertaken to upgrade the city’s train system.
Adi Lau Tin-shing, the rail firm’s operations director, said the incident would delay the introduction of the new signalling system.
“We must ensure safety before rolling out [the new system], I believe the project will be impacted,” Lau said, without giving an estimate on when it might be ready.
Originally slated to go online in late 2018, the rail operator had already delayed the start date to the second half of this year, before Monday’s accident.
Workers have been testing the new signalling system on the Tsuen Wan line since early last year, during non-operational hours.
Similar tests were also done on the East Rail line, which runs between Kowloon and New Territories, although its new system was supplied by another company.
MTR Corp was expecting the new system on the East Rail line to come online this year, and said its introduction would shorten train intervals from three to two minutes during peak hours.
Jacob Kam Chak-pui, the MTR Corp’s managing director, said on Monday all tests would be suspended before a preliminary report is compiled in two to three months.
The new system on Tsuen Wan Line will now also have to get approval from the government before it can be introduced.
SelTrac system has failed before, during 2017 crash in Singapore
Alfred Sit Wing-hang, the director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, said the government would launch an independent investigation into the incident.
“We will run a careful, in-depth and complete investigation to ensure the new signal system is operating in a safe and reliable manner before it commences,” Sit said.
Lam Wai-keung, a veteran MTR Corp engineer, said delays would be inevitable.
“I think some tests have to be redone,” he said.
Lam, the chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Railway Trade Unions, said the length of any delay would depend on whether the rail operator accepts Thales’ explanation for the software failure, which he said will determine the scoop of any retesting required.
Pro-government legislator Michael Tien Puk-sun, however, believes any delay to implementing the new signalling systems is likely to be small.
Tien thinks it is unlikely that the MTR Corp will seek to hire a new contractor for the signalling system.
Civic Party lawmaker Jeremy Tam Man-ho threw his support behind a separate inquiry, even if that meant further delays to the introduction of the new system.
In the meantime, Tam said the government should look into how it could meet rising demands for public transport in Hong Kong.
His party colleague, Tanya Chan, agreed that the government should launch its own investigation, and said it would be more independent.
She said the government could order more detailed inspections under the Mass Transit Railway Ordinance.
Under the law, the government can appoint an inspector to examine any equipment used in relation to the railway and conduct tests its deems necessary.
According to a document submitted by the MTR Corp to the Legislative Council, the new signalling system is expected to raise capacity on seven lines by 10 per cent.
Central-Admiralty MTR suspension ‘may last into Tuesday’, rail operator says
The seven lines are Tsuen Wan, Island, Kwun Tong, Tseung Kwan O, Disney, Tung Chung and the Airport Express.
MTR Corp was expected to finish the upgrade on the Kwun Tong line within the next year, and complete the rest on or before 2026.
