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Sum Lok-kei

The MTR Corporation may need days to cut up a train carriage derailed in an unprecedented crash on Monday before it can fully reopen the Tsuen Wan line, engineering experts have said.
The worst case scenario warning came on Tuesday as the railway firm revealed Hong Kong’s firefighters were now involved and the hours of restoration work required had been lengthened.
Professor Eric Cheng Ka-wai from Hong Kong Polytechnic University said space and time constraints were making removing the trains from tight underground tunnels “exceptionally difficult”.
“They may have to take [the carriage] apart to remove it,” Cheng said, adding the process could take days to complete.

The crash happened at around 3am on Monday while railway staff were testing a new signalling system during non-operational hours.
MTR Corp, which was recreating rush-hour conditions with trains a close distance apart, said a software fault caused a Central-bound train to hit a Tsuen Wan-bound train on a crossing between Admiralty and Central stations.
The first carriage on the Central-bound train was derailed and a driver was injured.
According to an MTR source, train carriages could weigh about 40 tonnes each.
If the carriage can’t move on the track... they may have no choice but to cut it up
Dr William Cheung, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
On Tuesday evening, MTR Corp operations director Adi Lau Tin-shing said employees were trying to get the derailed carriage back on track during operational hours, with help from the Fire Services Department.
Lau had said earlier work could only be done during non-operational hours, between 2am and 5am.
“Our staff will only be allowed to work if it is safe to do so,” Lau said.
Electricity near the crash site had been turned off, he added.
The constricted environment meant larger tools, such as cranes, could not be used.
Lau said staff had been using jacks to lift the carriage.
He also said the process of removing both trains had started by detaching the Tsuen Wan-bound carriages to free up space to get the derailed Central-bound carriage back upright.

The Fire Services Department said it sent 33 firefighters, including members of the Urban Search And Rescue Team, to the crash site.
Using hydraulic jacks and lifting bags, firefighters were able to lift the derail carriage by 72cm in six hours, allowing railway workers to correct the tilting.
“As the carriage is heavy, we can only lift less than 10cm at a time,” a statement by the department read.
Only after the Central-bound train was cleared could staff begin reassembling the Tsuen Wan-bound one and tow both away, Lau explained.
Once both trains were moved to side tracks services between Central and Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan line could resume.
Central-Admiralty MTR suspension ‘may last into Tuesday’, rail operator says
Cheng said a key factor was whether wheels on the derailed carriage were still functional.
Dr William Cheung Sing-wai, chairman of the Hong Kong branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, agreed with this assessment.




“If the carriage can move on the track, they can push it to sidetracks [to clear the path],” Cheung said.
“If not, they may have no choice but to cut it up.”
Cheng said another option would be to place tools, known as skids, under the damaged wheels.
The skids would allow the carriage to slide along the tracks – themselves a separate factor.
If the tracks were also damaged, it could add days to the stoppage, Cheng said.
Lau on Tuesday did not give a date of when train services were expected to fully restart.


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MTR ‘may need days’ to cut up carriage derailed in Hong Kong train crash before it can fully reopen Tsuen Wan line

MTR Corporation operations director Adi Lau Tin-shing (L) and Francis Li Shing-kee, chief of operating meet the press at the Hong Kong West Kowloon railway station in Austin. 24SEP18 SCMP / Edmond So

MTR staff carried out repair works in the early hours on Tuesday. Photo: handout

MTR staff carry out repair work in the early hours of Tuesday. Photo: Handout

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The train crash happened on Monday morning. The carriages were carrying no passengers. Photo: Handout

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Passengers get onto the train at a platform inside Central MTR Station, on Tuesday morning around 7:40am. MTR Corporation has announced that train services between Central and Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan line will remain suspended after a collision on Monday morning left two badly damaged trains stuck in a tunnel. 19MAR19 SCMP / Felix Wong

Commuters face another day of MTR service delays after ‘unacceptable’ signal failure causes unprecedented train crash

an image of what appears to be the screen capture of the signaling systemÕs computer interface also surfaced online on Monday afternoon. On the image, two train routes had intersected at the site of the crash on Monday. Photo: Handout

MTR staff directing commuters at the Admiralty MTR station during the evening rush hour. A train crash happened during an overnight trial run of a new signal system, leaving two drivers injured and two badly damaged trains. Due to the crash near the Central MTR station, the train running between Central-Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan line has been suspended. 18MAR19 SCMP/ Nora Tam

View of the damaged trains that were conducting an overnight trial run of a new signal system, leaving two drivers injured and two badly damaged trains. Due to the crash near the Central MTR station, the train running between Central-Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan line has been suspended. Photo / Handout

View of a packed Admiralty MTR station during the evening rush hour. A train crash happened during an overnight trial run of a new signal system, leaving two drivers injured and two badly damaged trains. Due to the crash near the Central MTR station, the train running between Central-Admiralty on the Tsuen Wan line has been suspended. 18MAR19 SCMP/ Nora Tam

Passengers arriving on the Tsuen Wan line from Tsim Sha Tsui had to change trains at Admiralty after Monday morning’s crash. Photo: Sam Tsang

Safety concerns over MTR’s new signalling system means likely delay in bringing it online after crash

A software failure in the new signalling system caused Monday’s crash. Photo: Nora Tam

Signalling system blamed for Hong Kong MTR collision was also behind 2017 crash at Joo Koon station on Singapore MRT

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***PAY PER USE. Please re-download from vendor website.*** SHUTTERSTOCK 181692737. LONDON, UK - SEP 27: London Underground station interior on September 27, 2013 in London, UK. The system serves 270 stations, 402 kilometers of track with operation history of 150 years Image ID:181692737

News

Hong Kong

Transport

Space and time constraints are making removing trains from tight underground tunnels ‘exceptionally difficult’
Key factor is whether wheels on derailed carriage are still functional


Space and time constraints are making removing trains from tight underground tunnels ‘exceptionally difficult’.


Accidents and personal safety in Hong Kong

Transport and logistics

MTR ‘may need days’ to cut up carriage derailed in Hong Kong train crash before it can fully reopen Tsuen Wan line

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Space and time constraints are making removing trains from tight underground tunnels ‘exceptionally difficult’ Key factor is whether wheels on derailed carriage are still functional

Space and time constraints are making removing trains from tight underground tunnels ‘exceptionally difficult’

Key factor is whether wheels on derailed carriage are still functional