Derailed MTR train back on tracks after crash as Hong Kong government assures public signalling system upgrade will only go ahead if safety is guaranteed
- No rush to roll out SelTrac CBTC signalling system and tests will be suspended until safety is assured, government says
- System supplier Thales says there is nothing wrong with it, and the company will issue a report on the incident on Friday
Hong Kong’s top officials scrambled to assure a jittery public that a new signalling system upgrade being tested for the city’s entire railway network would only be accepted if safety was guaranteed, as uncertainty remained on whether services would fully return to the Tsuen Wan line on Wednesday after an unprecedented train crash on Monday.
At 11pm on Tuesday, the MTR Corporation said it had successfully moved a derailed train back onto the tracks and would try to tow it away.
“As to whether train services between Central and Admiralty stations on the Tsuen Wan line can be resumed in the morning, it depends on the progress of restoration work,” the rail operator said.
Engineering staff would also have to check trackside facilities for damage.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday morning there was no rush to roll out the new signalling system, which was supplied to the rail operator by French company Thales.
“I want to reiterate that public safety is of primary concern, so we will not rush to … put in place this new signal system until we are assured of [its] safety,” Lam said.